A Fairy's Wish
by Miki Mechetta
Summary: Baby Tooth has one simple wish, that Jack would never be alone again. Wishes are rarely granted how we expect them to be.
1. Chapter 1

The soft buzzing sounds of tiny wings filled Jack's ears. A smile brushed his pale lips. "Don't you have teeth to collect?"

A tiny fairy darted before him, her violet eyes full of excitement as she started chattering away to her best friend.

"Whoa, slow down, Baby Tooth," he laughed, holding out his hand. The mini-fairy smiled, curling up on his frosty palm. Carefully, the winter spirit moved his hand to his shoulder, depositing the tiny fairy onto her favorite perch. "Where are you headed tonight?"

A series of squeaked words and Jack nodded. "How about I give you a lift?"

Happy squeaks of accent were all it took and Jack shot off into the night sky. It was the middle of autumn here in the north, the middle of spring in the south. One of those special times of year when only the coldest bits of the earth saw a hint of snow. Jack hated those times, especially now. Being a Guardian meant responsibility, no freak snowstorms would be plaguing the globe this year.

At least he had Baby Tooth. The little fairy had taken it upon herself to keep Jack out of mischief. Whenever he had someone to talk to, to play with, he never seemed to get into the kinds of trouble that lead to angry talks about responsibility from a 6 foot bunny.

Flying with Jack wasn't like flying as a tooth collector. When she flew across the sky it was with the urgent rush of a fairy on a mission. When he flew she was able to take in the world, trusting that Jack would get her where she needed to go.

"So, apparently North has decided that I need to pick a place for my home."

Baby Tooth looked back at her friend and chirped in confusion. Jack had a home, his lake.

"That's what I told him, but with more children starting to believe in me my powers are growing, more people can see me, and I need a place to go where I can be out of sight." He sighed, "Three hundred years of wanting kids to believe in me and now I can't even enjoy it."

Baby Tooth chirped sadly, hugging Jack's neck with tiny hands.

"It's okay. He's right. Imagine what would happen if North or Tooth let kids see them. As I get more powerful it'll be the same for me. Legends have to be careful." Jack halted, slowly landing on the windowsill of a large, red brick house. "This is your stop."

Baby Tooth darted through the window, the glass magically melting away, and swooped under the sleeping child's pillow. She escaped the room, tooth in hand, and returned to Jack's shoulder.

"I take it you want a lift home now?"

A chirp of conformation and they were off.

"What do you think of the South Pole?"

She remembered that place. It had been so cold there. That terrible man has almost killed her. Why would Jack want to go back?

"I mean, North has a pretty good claim to the North Pole and the South Pole has penguins. I could have a lot of fun with penguins. I bet I could keep one as a pet!"

An alarmed series of chirps made him grin.

"I'm only kidding about the penguin part. What do you think of a palace of ice? The whole surface would sparkle like fresh snow and my frost would decorate everything."

Baby Tooth imagined such a place, full of icy cold beauty, and shivered. She would never be able to visit such a place. Even if she could brave the cold she doubted she could fight against the harsh winds of that barren world. Looking up at Jack she saw how happy he looked. A world of ice and snow would be heaven to the winter spirit. A true home for the nomadic boy. Curling up against his shoulder she listened sadly as he described the wintry world he was dreaming of as they flew towards her home.

When they neared the entrance to the tooth kingdom Jack slowed down and gently took his companion from his shoulder. "I guess you've probably got work to do now and Tooth will get mad if I keep you."

Baby Tooth nodded and darted off Jack's palm, hugging his nose gently, before flying off towards the shimmering shires of the tooth kingdom. Tiny tears pricked at the corners of her eyes at the though of her friend alone in his palace of ice. As she flew under the star spattered sky she looked towards the horizon. The evening star shone brightly on this cloudless night and Baby Tooth did something she had never thought to do before. She made a wish.

* * *

Far above the earth sits the kingdom of the heavenly guardians. The man in the moon, guardian of Fate and Destiny, and one other guardian. Older than time itself and changeless as the heavens, her flowing dress patterned in swirls of gold and silver, is the evening star. The ageless guardian of wishes hears the tiny wish of the baby fairy and smiles. It has been a long time since a wish this pure was asked of her.


	2. Chapter 2

This is quite possibly a really stupid idea for a story, but I like it so I'm going to go with it. Hopefully you enjoy it.

* * *

Only the strongest wishes reach the Evening Star. The wishes of those who, in that moment when the wish is made, wish with all their heart. The power of that yearning gives a wish life. On silver wings they glide to the wish keeper's home:

_I wish Jack was never left alone again_

She rarely granted a wish. So often a wisher had no idea what a granted wish would bring. Still, it was the Evening Star's job was to consider every wish. This one intrigued her. Jack's wishes had reached her many times over the past 300 years. Desperate wishes.

_I wish just one person would see me._

_I wish I had someone to talk with._

_I wish I knew what my purpose was._

She had longed to ease the Frost child's burden, but she couldn't make a child believe in Jack. She couldn't create a friend for the lonely boy, the power of life was beyond even her. So the wishes faded away. But this wish, this wish she could grant. It would cost the wisher greatly, though. Summoning up an image of the tiny fairy, the Evening Star watch her as she flitted through the night, bringing presents and collecting teeth from the children of the world.

Would this little one be willing to give it all up for her friend?

* * *

Baby Tooth wiggled under the soft pillow, the gentle breath of the child above the only sound as her tiny hands grabbing the little tooth she found there, dropping a quarter in its place. Squirming back out she zoomed out of the window and into the night. As she made her way home she found herself staring into the sky once again. The evening star was so bright tonight. She blinked and stopped moving, hovering in place as she watched the star in shock. It was moving!

The bright light shot down from the sky right at her! Baby Tooth cried out and closed her eyes in fright, wrapping her tiny arms around the precious tooth in protection. Suddenly the chill night air turned warm. Baby Tooth opened her eyes and stared in wonder at the lady before her.

She was beautiful. Her hair glowed golden white, like a star in the night. Her skin was a golden brown and her dress, Baby Tooth had never seen such pretty clothes. It seemed to be made of pure white silk, but patterns of gold and silver moved across its surface. A living tapestry of light. The most amazing part of all, at least to the tiny fairy, was the woman's size. She was her size. No one was ever her size save for her sisters!

"Greeting, little one," the lady curtsied lightly and smiled. Baby Tooth squeaked a tiny hello and fell silent once more.

"I am Estel, the Evening Star. I have heard your wish and decided to grant it."

Baby Tooth stared at the Star in confusion for a few seconds before her face lit up. Her wish for Jack? That was all she could ever want! Baby Tooth started to happily thank the Star when the woman held up her hand to stop the tirade of thanks.

"But there is a catch."

A catch?

"I can make sure Jack is never alone, but I can't create a friend for him. I can't take a child and make it his friend. To give him someone that will be able to stay by his side forever I have to take a willing soul and bind it to him, if there isn't someone willing to make that sacrifice Jack will remain alone. You know the basics of such a bond, for it is in this manner that you and your sisters are bound to the Tooth Fairy. With Jack it would be even stronger. A soul bound to him would share the in the power of winter as Tooth shares with you the power of flight. Do you understand?"

Baby Tooth nodded.

"It is because of this that I have come to you. I will give Jack an eternal friend, but only if you are willing to be that friend."

Baby Tooth clutched the tooth in her arms closer to her chest. Give up being a tooth fairy? This life was all she had ever known! Then she thought of Jack, alone in his ice palace, watching the silent, arctic snow fall. Jack. He was always there for her, had willingly given up the source of his powers to save her life. She had seen him at his most vulnerable, when all the frosty walls had melted away and the lonely boy had been revealed. She had saved him, too. Had shown him that his powers weren't a fluke, that he had been chosen for a reason.

Baby Tooth looked down at the tooth in her arms. "_She just lost her first premolar and she's been such a good child, I think this calls for a dollar coin!"_ Tooth had given her a mission. She couldn't just abandon it.

Looking up at the Star, Baby Tooth quickly began to explain. Yes, she would be with Jack, but she had to let Mama Tooth know and she couldn't just abandon her precious burden. Estel smiled, she knew the magnitude of the tiny fairy's choice.

"Come then, let us go and see your Guardian. She may not veto your choice, but she will feel something when your bond is broken and must be informed. It is only right that you say good bye to your old life."


	3. Chapter 3

"Is this really what you want?"

Tooth looked down at her little helper. Baby Tooth was so scared, she could feel it through their bond. Never let it be said that her girls weren't brave.

Baby Tooth nodded.

Tooth gently held the little fairy to her, feeling her trembling. For a moment Tooth considered trying to stop this madness, but this wasn't her choice. Carefully releasing the little fairy she watched as Estel took her little helper in her hands and disappeared in a flash of light.

"Please protect her, Jack."

* * *

Jack quietly inspected his new home. The Guardian of winter had no trouble willing an ice palace into existence, but it still needed some minor changes. First to go were these stairs, they just weren't right. Glaring at the grand staircase before him he shook his head, way to boring. A wave of his staff and an ice slide replaced the frozen steps. Perfect.

Wind swirled about him as he flew to the top of his new toy. He was about to sit down when another brilliant idea struck him, why sit when you can stand?

Grinning he jumped onto the slide and zoomed down, his laughter the only sound in this frozen world.

Reaching the bottom of the slide Jack slid to a halt and looked around the frozen foyer, it was beautiful, but it still felt hollow. What fun was a work of art if no one saw it?

Suddenly the cold palace began to fill with radiant light. Jack jumped back in surprise, spinning around, looking for the source of the magical light. The reflective nature of his new home made it impossible to tell. Finally the light died away and before him stood the most luminescent woman he had ever seen.

"Greetings, Jack Frost."

Jack gripped his staff tightly, but left it by his side. He didn't think this woman was a threat. "Sorry, but who exactly are you?"

The woman smiled, "I seem to be meeting a lot of people for the first time today. I am Estel, the Evening Star and Guardian of Wishes."

Jack nodded, accepting the declaration, "Okay, but why are you here?"

"Why, to grant a wish, of course!"

Jack stared at her. Sure, he'd made wishes over the years, but he hadn't had any cause to wish as of late. He was a little lonely, but that wasn't anything new. He gave up wishing about that two hundred years ago.

Seeing the boys confusion, Estel held out her cupped hand, reveling a tiny fairy curled up inside of them.

"Baby Tooth!" Jack ran forward, ready to grab the tiny fairy from this strange woman.

Seeing Jack's frightened face Baby Tooth left the protective warmth of the star and flew towards her friend. In the few seconds it took to reach him she had already begun to shiver from the cold. Jack carefully took the little one in his arms, but there was nothing he could do to stop the cold from seeping into her tiny wings.

As he watched the fairy in concern Estel glided along the floor to his side. "It is not your wish I am here to grant, Jack Frost, but hers."

He didn't look up from the tiny fairy, too busy watching her shiver to pay much attention to the Star. "She's so cold, please, take her home."

"She is home, Jack."

"What?" Frosty blue eyes clouded in confusion as they stared up into bright golden ones.

"Baby Tooth made a very special wish and I have chosen to grant it."

"What did she wish?"

"She made a wish for you, Jack. She wished that you wouldn't be left alone anymore. I have chosen to grant this wish and she has chosen to take responsibility for what the means. From today on Baby Tooth will no longer be a tooth fairy. Instead, she will be bound to you, a creature of ice and snow, able to follow you into the very heart of winter."

Jack stared down at his little friend, she was looking up at him, eyes full of excitement, but he could see fear there, too. "No."

Baby Tooth swore she could feel her heart stop. Jack didn't want her?

"No, I can't let you give up your world for me. You love being a tooth fairy. How many times have I helped you fly around the world collecting teeth? You're always so happy!"

Baby Tooth shook her head and began to chirp. She wanted this.

Jack shook his head. He couldn't let her do this. She didn't know what she was giving up for him. In desperation he looked up at the Evening Star. "I can't accept this. I can't take her away from Tooth like this."

"The Tooth Fairy has already agree, Jack. This is Baby Tooth's choice and she has chosen you, but I can see you do not wish to let this little one give up her world for you. If you had been eager to accept this offer then you wouldn't be worth of so great a gift. I propose a compromise. Baby Tooth wishes to give you a companion and a companion you shall have. From today, the autumnal equinox, until the first day of spring Baby Tooth will be bound to you. But, when the sun sets on the last bit of the world, ushering in spring for the entire northern hemisphere, she will once again be a tooth fairy. Agreed?"

Jack looked down at the trembling fairy in his hands. Six months with Baby Tooth by his side, a chance to show her the full glory of winter. It was far too tempting for the boy, "Alright, six months and then she goes home."

Baby Tooth squeaked happily. Six months, she could give up her world for six months with ease! The fear that had been gnawing at her heart flew away, this would be wonderful!

Estel smiled and raised her right arm towards the heavens and snapped her fingers with a cry of "Then let it be so."

The Star disappeared and Baby Tooth suddenly found herself surrounded by a white light that felt as cold as the polar winds and smelled of frost. She felt herself lift from Jack's palm as the light consumed her, but as the light shone brighter and brighter the chill air seemed to disappear. The frosty smell of the air suddenly didn't seem so frightening. She finally felt herself settle on the ground, the light fading away, and opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was Jack staring at her.


	4. Chapter 4

Jack watched his little friend in awe. She looked very different, that was for sure. In place of a tiny fairy sat a girl, her hair the color of freshly fallen snow. It wrapped around her body like a snow drift. While Jack's eyes were the color of frost Baby Tooth's new eyes were a pale grey, the color of the winter sky on a snowy day. Gone were the simmering green feathers that had coated her body since birth. Now her skin was pale as Jack's and her body was clothed in an entirely different outfit. A tight, icy blue shirt, covered in shimmering swirls of white frost, covered her torso. It was a tiny shirt, reaching only to the very tips of her shoulder blades and leaving her arms bare to the cold. Her legs were clothed in frosted, brown leggings, much like Jacks, and her feet were bare. By her side lay two objects, the first a dark blue jacket and the second a staff. Like Jack's staff, this one was as long as she and ended in a crescent moon. Unlike Jack's, her staff was made of a frosty blue material that could only be described as frosted ice.

Jack was entranced. He'd never seen a creature like this, so obviously made to share in his winter wonderland. He carefully moved forward and bent down next to the girl, "You okay?"

Baby Tooth looked up at Jack and tilted her head to the side, "You shrunk."

Her voice was the sound of a winter wind, the crunch of boots on fresh snow, and the jingle of sleigh bells all rolled into one. As Jack stared Baby Tooth's eyes widened, "I spoke!"

Her hands flew up to cover her mouth, "Oh, I did it again."

Laughing Jack nodded, "Yes, you did. And I didn't shrink, you grew!"

"Oh," Baby Tooth stared at her hands. They were so different! Everything was so different.

"Are you cold?" Jack doubted that girl could even feel cold, but it was worth asking.

Baby Tooth blinked in surprise and smiled at Jack, "No, it's not cold anymore!"

Jack grinned back and reached out, gently brushing her new hair out of her face. As his fingers touched her skin Jack opened his mouth to reply when a shocking feeling overwhelmed him. Suddenly his powers were rushing through his body, down his arm, through his hand, towards his fingertips. When they had reached the very edge of his body they paused for a moment before rushing out and enveloping Baby Tooth, swirling along her skin and into her body before drawing back into Jack, leaving just a touch of winter magic behind.

The whole process took less than a minutes, but it left Jack shaking. Suddenly he could feel Baby Tooth beside him, like she was a part of him. He could sense her heart beating, feel the power of winter coursing through ice blessed veins.

Baby Tooth looked up at him, grey eyes full of concern, "Are you okay?"

Jack nodded, gasping for breath in the still air. "Did, did you feel that?"

Baby Tooth nodded, but it wasn't so new to her. When Jack touched her she had felt the last remnants of her bond to the Tooth Fairy break away and her new bond with Jack had been formed. Estel had been right, it was different. Being bound to the Guardian of Innocence and Memories had meant constant knowledge of where she needed to be, what children deserved for their gift, and where her sisters were. That was gone. In its place she felt excitement and curiosity. She wanted to fly and have fun. She also realized that she now knew precisely how to make the perfect snowball.

She grabbed her staff, eager to see if she really could do it.

Jumping to her feet Baby Tooth twirled the staff through the air, releasing a tiny blast of arctic wind. At her feet formed three perfect snowballs. Curiously she picked one up, rolling the white sphere across her hands.

Jack watched, fascinated. It had taken him years to perfect that trick.

Baby Tooth threw the snowball into the air, watching in delight as it plummeted back to earth, splattering on the icy floor. She grabbed another, repeating the action. Giggling she reached for the final snowball, drawing back her hand to throw it before something stopped her. A tiny voice in the back of her mind telling her that there was much more fun to be had with these toys. "Jack?"

"Hmm?"

Pow! The snowball splattered onto Jack's face, covering it in white powder. Wiping the snowflakes from his eyes, Jack stared in shock, no one had ever hit him with a snowball. Baby tooth giggled, watching her friend's surprised face, "That is fun!"

Jack grinned, "Oh, is it?"

A quick twirl of his staff and an army of snowballs appeared at his feet. Baby Tooth gulped and started running. She knew how this was going to end now that the element of surprise was lost to her.

Jack jumped up, ready to chase her, but he stopped. Baby Tooth ran across the ice that made up the floor in this winter palace like others ran along a forest floor. The slippery surface didn't cause her to trip or fall. As she ran, wintry hair streaming out behind her, Jack found himself lowering the snowball and letting it drop to the ground. There would be time for that later, right now he needed to see just what Baby Tooth could do. She obviously had the most basic of his abilities at her command, but what about the complicated ones? Could she fly on the winds? Could she control the snow? It was about time he found out.

By now Baby Tooth had realized Jack wasn't chasing her. She turned around, giving him a puzzled look. This was fun! Weren't they supposed to have fun?

Jack smiled, "Later, Baby Tooth."

He reached down to the ground, grabbing her abandoned staff, and walking over to her. Placing the staff in her hand he grinned, a mischievous light flickering in his eyes, "Here, you're going to need this."


	5. Chapter 5

The giant doors of Jack's ice palace glimmered in the sun. No snow was falling today, an unusual occurrence for this wintry wasteland. Even though the outside world was calm Baby Tooth didn't like the idea of leaving the palace. It felt safe, its very walls radiated Jack's magic in a veil of chilly protection. With their newly formed bond such magic called to her and promised her safety. Out there, in the snowy world of the Antarctic, anything could happen. She grabbed Jack's hand tightly, an instinctive reaction, but it stopped the Guardian short. He stared down at their intertwined hands. He hadn't held someone's hand since he was human.

He looked into her fear filled eyes and smiled gently, "Don't worry, this will be fun. I'm going to show you how to really fly!"

Baby Tooth nodded, her grip tightening, and Jack opened the door. Winds rushed in, tugging at the hems of the two winter spirit's clothing. Jack took a step towards the outside world and stopped.

"Oh, right!" Letting go of Baby Tooth's hand he rushed back to the pile of snowballs and grabbed her tiny jacket from the ground. Moving back to her side he held the jacket out to her, "Here, you might as well wear the full uniform."

Baby Tooth handed Jack her staff and grabbed the jacket from his arms. Pulling on the soft blue material she look down to admire it and realized she had no clue what she looked like. She knew she was taller, but that was about it. "Jack, what do I look like now?"

"Well, you look an awful lot like me, but not me. It's not like Tooth, where you're just a smaller version, you're…" Jack searched for the right words, beautiful came to mind, but he'd just told her she looked like him and that seemed like a weird form of self-compliment. "Here, I'll show you."

Jack closed the doors and transformed their icy face. Instead of the frost laden blocks of ice that had stood before them mere seconds ago, now the door's surface was the clouded glass of pure ice. The mirror-like surface reflected an image of two beings. Baby Tooth recognized Jack, but the girl by his side was a stranger. Reaching up, Baby Tooth watched as the girl in the ice mirrored her motions, brushing her fingers through snowy locks of hair, moving her hands along clothing that sang of winter. The jacket she had just placed over her shirt matched Jack's in color, but it was dotted with tiny snowflakes and it zippered in the front. Right now it hung open, reveling her lighter shirt. She decided she like it that way. Letting her left hand fall to her side Baby Tooth reached out with her right hand and placed her palm on the ice. The girl she was staring at did the same. As their palms touched Baby Tooth let out a tiny whisper, "I'm not me anymore, am I?"

Jack remained silent as the words echoed through the room. He seemed to be searching for an answer. Finally, he looked down at the new winter child, grinning, "No, you'll always be you. I wasn't always Jack Frost, but the person I was before I became the Spirit of Winter is the same person I am now. Besides, this is only temporary. Soon you'll be back to your colorful self, right?"

Baby Tooth nodded, removing her hand from the ice and taking his hand in hers once more she squeezed tightly. She trusted Jack. Taking her staff back from him she took a deep breath and waited.

Jack squeezed back and decided he liked holding hands. "Okay, here we go."

* * *

Icy doors flew open and the two winter spirits shot into the sky, arctic winds pushing them even higher into the air. Baby Tooth gripped tighter to Jack, right now he was all that was keeping her afloat. Staring up into her friends face she watched as childish delight filled his eyes, a look of pure happiness stealing over his face. Suddenly her heart was beating a little faster. Her sisters were going to be very jealous if they ever found out about this.

Jack felt his companion's heart speed up, an interesting side effect of their bond, but he misinterpreted its meaning. "Don't worry, I'm not going to let you fall."

They sped across the snowy landscape until Jack found what he was looking for, an icy cliff face sticking out of the blanket of snow. Jack landed on the peak of the cliff, carefully making sure Baby Tooth landed on her feet. "Here we go, this is the perfect launching spot!"

Baby Tooth glanced over the edge and squeaked in fear. She jumped back and threw her arms around Jack, hiding her face in his chest. She wished she had wings again.

Jack laughed, "It's okay, Baby Tooth, you don't have to be afraid."

Easy for him to say.

He took a hold of her shoulders, gently pushing her away from him, and looked down into frightened, grey eyes. "Come on, you mastered the art of the snowball in a few minutes. Flying is way easier!"

Baby Tooth wasn't so sure she could fly. She had known immediately how to make a snowball, but she had no idea how Jack flew or how to make a snowstorm. She looked down at the frost staff in her hand. She knew it all had something to do with this. As Jack started to talk about the winds she found herself drowning out his words, all her attention focusing on that little staff. Whereas, just a few seconds ago, it had seemed to be just a piece of ice now its surface seemed to pulse with energy. She watched, fascinated, as pulses of blue light shot through the staff.

Jack had stopped talking now, curiously watching at Baby Tooth took the staff in both hands, her face a cloud of determination as she concentrated on the pulsing lights. Abruptly, the entire staff blazed with wintry light, winds whipped around Baby Tooth, and she began to hover. The light vanished and Baby Tooth softly fell back to the ground. Her eyes were wide with wonder and Jack realized something. When she'd become a winter spirit he'd been excited to have someone to have fun with, now he'd wanted to show her how to fly. Curiously he let his mind wonder to a winter storm, the incredible feeling of drawing snow from the clouds and coating a town in white.

Baby Tooth's staff glowed once more and, this time, the air about them filled with snow. 'So,' Jack though, 'all I have to do to teach her something is to want her to learn it!'

While Jack was enjoying this new ability Baby Tooth was busy processing all of the new information that had come pouring into her. Her bond with Tooth had been purely a flow of locations and tasks, now she was suddenly filled with power. If she wanted to she could coat the whole world in ice. Did Jack always feel like this?


	6. Chapter 6

Baby Tooth soared above the arctic landscape, watching as Jack's tiny figured blended into the white and blue of the winter world. Trust the Guardian of Fun to challenge her to a race as soon as she'd mastered the basics of flight. She could probably catch up to him if she tried, but Baby Tooth had always been a careful spirit and that hadn't changed. So she let Jack rush ahead as she experimented with her new abilities.

Wind was a tricky substance, it wasn't like her wings. Wings were a part of you, the wind was a force of nature. There was a delicate balance between where she wanted to go and what the wind's plan was. She doubted Jack even considered this. He was the Guardian of Winter, the wind obeyed him. It would take a while before she felt that comfortable commanding nature.

Jack had stopped now, waiting for her to catch up. Not wanting to keep him waiting she took a deep breath and reached out to the wind. "A bit faster, please?"

She was rushing towards Jack now, the wind whipping her hair around her body. Hair, that was another new feature. She turned her eyes to watch as it flapped in the wind, billowing out behind her. It would probably get in her way if she didn't figure out how to restrain it. As she pondered the dilemma of long hair Baby Tooth smashed into Jack. She let out a shriek of surprise as he looped his arms around her, stopping her from falling. He looked down at her, laughing at her shocked face, "I would have thought that, after being a flyer for so long, you'd know to watch where you're going?"

Baby Tooth's face colored with a frost flush. "Sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry, you just have to make sure you don't go running into me. You're my helper this year, so I need to be able to count on you. You're going to love bringing winter to the north! Come on, let's go home. We've got blizzards and snow days to plan."

Jack took hold of Baby Tooth's hand one more, pulling her along behind him as they headed back to the winter palace. As they neared his new home Jack stopped, looking at the palace rising out of the snow. "What do you think of it?"

Baby Tooth studied the palace, seeing it in all its glory for the first time. It was lovely, a tall spire of ice reaching to the heavens, the only feature on its cold surface the gigantic doors they had left by that morning, but it didn't suit Jack at all. "Why did you make it look like that?"

Jack shrugged, "I just went with the first thing that came to mind. Don't you like it?"

Baby Tooth wasn't used to this. She always did what she was told, Tooth rarely asked for opinions on anything. Jack sensed her hesitation and had the winds lower them to the ground. He carefully placed a hand underneath her chin and guided her face so that she was looking into his eyes. "Baby Tooth, you're my helper, you're allowed to help! Now, what do you think of it?"

She looked toward the ice spire, "It's pretty."

"Yeah, but you don't like it." He didn't look hurt, just curious. "Come on, we've got a whole world of ice out here and the power to do whatever we want with it. What should it look like?"

A shrug and downcast eyes were his only answer. Jack pursed his lips, this wouldn't do. This was supposed to be fun! He looked back at his new home. She was right, there was something wrong about it. He hadn't given much thought to its looks. Then he had an idea. Leaving Baby Tooth on the ground he jumped into the air and began to create.

Baby Tooth looked up from the ground, watching in awe as the ice pillar disappeared. In its place sprouted towering spires that were connected together by delicate ice walkways. When Jack finished she found herself staring at a wintery replica of the Tooth Palace.

"Not bad, huh?" Jack floated down to hover before her, eyes sparkling with mirth. "What do you think?"

Baby Tooth clutched her staff tightly, "Up, please, Ms. Wind."

The wind gently lifted the former fairy into the air, dropping her onto one of the walkways that made up the replica. Jack followed silently, watching as Baby Tooth walked through the frost building. Finally, she faced Jack, eyes wide with joy, "It's perfect, but you've only been to the Tooth Palace once!"

Jack shrugged, obviously pleased with himself, "Twice, actually. I take it you like this better?"

"Oh, yes, this is incredible, Jack."

He landed beside her, beaming, "Okay, we'll work on making my home tomorrow, for now I want you to show me all around the Tooth Palace. I may know what it looks like, but I don't know anything about how the real one works."

Baby Tooth's eyes were full of excitement now and Jack knew he'd made the right call. This would be fun!

* * *

"And this is where we get the coins from." Jack nodded, leaning against an ice wall as Baby Tooth spun around the replica of the coin room. Who knew being a tooth fairy was so complicated? The past few hours had been a whirlwind tour through the world of the Tooth Fairy and her helpers. It was a good thing it was the time of year when the sun never set on the South Pole.

The initial plan had been to let her have her fun and then dismantle the Tooth Palace, but by now he'd decided he might as well let this be. Baby Tooth was so happy here and he had the entire South Pole to make his home. Why not let her have this to come to when she missed hers?

Baby Tooth stopped her chattering and walked over to Jack, smiling, "And that's it."

He grinned, widening his eyes and forming a shocked expression that made Baby Tooth giggle, "Wow, and I thought it was just grab the tooth, bring it home and repeat."

She shook her head, pleased with her friend's appreciation, "Nope! It's lots of work!"

"I bet it is, but that's not how I operate. You may have my powers down, but you still need to learn how to have fun!"

Baby Tooth gave Jack a puzzled look, hadn't they been having fun.

Jack chuckled, "Yeah, this has been fun, don't get me wrong, but this isn't our job. You need to learn how to have fun when you use my powers. First things first, the wind is our friend, it wants to help us! You don't need to call it 'Ms. Wind' and ask for a lift, you tell it where you want to go and then you play with it while it takes you there!"

"How do you play with the wind?"

"Well, you've flown with me a lot, what's the difference between flying with me and flying as a tooth fairy?"

Baby Tooth thought about it for a moment, "When I fly with you I get to watch the world, but when I fly as a fairy I'm always too busy rushing to my destination to do that."

Jack nodded, pushing himself off of the wall and giving her a big thumbs up, "Okay, that's good! There's more to it than that, though."

He jumped into the air, letting the wind take hold of his body. "When you fly with the wind you're taking it on a journey with you."

As he began souring around the room, twisting in and out of ice pillars, Jack continued, "We don't have a mission beyond making sure winter does its job, so we can go wherever we want. You see a bunch of kids sledding down a hill? Go ahead and stop to make sure they have the best ride of their lives! Want to start a snowball fight? Feel free to throw the first blow!"

He stopped his twisting flight, landing in front of Baby Tooth, "That's what it means to be the Guardian of Fun, to play with the wind. Everywhere we go the wind at our backs should echo will the sounds of joy and laughter."

Grey eyes met frosty blue, "You think you can do that?"


	7. Chapter 7

Author's note: I know I haven't been very talkative, but I like to let my stories speak for themselves. Thank you for reading this story. I hope you've enjoyed it so far and will continue to do so. Your reviews are one of the highlights of my day so thank you to those who take the time to do so. Enjoy!

* * *

Children's laughter wasn't something a tooth fairy ever got to hear. They came at night, while children slept. Hearing the sound of a child's laugh for the first time had been a magical experience. As she wondered what else she had been missing by only visiting at night, Baby Tooth watched Jack play with a group of children. They were currently in a small village in the northern part of Greenland, helping winter start to take grip of the north.

They had arrived last night amidst a flurry of ice and snow to begin "fun training." It was a Saturday, that meant no school and maximum time for winter fun. Though these children couldn't see Jack, he was still happily busy forming piles of snowballs and giving magical aid with the formation of snow forts.

Stepping back to admire his work he noticed that Baby Tooth was still hidden away, watching the fun from the sidelines. He shook his head, today was about learning how to have fun and, if Jack Frost couldn't teach someone how to have fun, no one could!

He ran over to her, taking her hand in his, wordlessly pulling her into the games. Placing a snowball into her hands, Jack pointed towards a child at the edge of the group. The little boy looked like he wanted to join in the fun, but the snowball in his hands had fallen to pieces. With the ease of several hundred years spent sneaking presents under pillows Baby Tooth knocked the broken pieces from his hand and replaced them with Jack's snowball. The little boy looked down in surprise and a huge grin spread across his face. He carefully took aim at one of the other children and threw. It was a terrible throw, but Jack was ready for that. The snowball, which should have splattered to the ground in front of the boy, was instead grabbed by a strong winter breeze and flew straight into the other child's chest.

Laughing the little boy started to run as the older child chased after him, crying out, "I'm going to get you, little brother."

The joy in the little boy's eyes was nothing compared to Baby Tooth's. Jack watch happily as she began to run around the group, summoning snowballs by children's feet and laughing with them as they chased one another through the winter air. He suddenly realized that he was now watching and they wouldn't do. Summoning a snowball into his hand, Jack joined the children and Baby Tooth in their chilly games. Finally, when every face was tinged a bright red, calls of "dinner time" rang through the air and children disappeared into brightly lit houses, leaving Jack and Baby Tooth alone amidst the ruins of a winter war.

As the door closed on the last child Baby Tooth ran over and threw her arms around Jack, laughing into his chest, "That was incredible!"

As she clung to him Jack felt a sudden warmth spreading into his cheeks, He was suddenly very glad the sky had already started to darken. Ignoring the blush that was slowly creeping along his face, he wrapped his arms around Baby Tooth, hugging her back. "I'm glad you liked it."

She pulled back, gazing up into his face, "I loved it! Can we do that again?"

Icy wind swirled around them, though neither felt the cold, and Jack's face light up like the night sky, "Again? We can do it every day!"

He wrapped his arms around her once more, twirling her around as snow began to fall, "Every day is going to be full of fun, snow, and winter!"

They both fell back into the snow, Baby Tooth landing by Jack's side. Laying side by side, laughing as snowflakes fell from above, Jack could feel a tiny glow spark inside of him. This was all he'd ever really wanted, someone to share all of the things he saw with. Calming his racing heart he propped himself up and grinned down at Baby Tooth, "So, where shall we go tomorrow? It's still too early for winter to reach most of the world, but we can go wherever you like and bring some cool breezes with us."

"I get to pick?"

"Sure! Where's your favorite place to go? You've been all over picking up teeth, surely you have one?"

She lay back, looking up at the stars, and thought. Sure, she had been all over the world, but she hadn't really taken the time to see it. "I don't know. What's your favorite place?"

Jack lay back down, placing an arm behind his head as he did so, "Well, I used to spend a lot of time in Burgess and it's still one of my favorite parts of the world. After all, it's the first place a child ever saw me! It not my favorite, though. I think my favorite place would have to be Switzerland."

"Switzerland?"

"Yeah! The Swiss Alps are an incredible place in winter. There's this little town, called Mürren, where everything is dedicated to snow. When I bring a snowstorm there no one complains about the fact that they have to shovel a driveway, everyone's excited!"

Baby Tooth was sitting up now, watching Jack as a dreamy look spread over his face, "Why's that?"

"Because it's a skiing town! People come from all over the world to play in the ice and snow there and, at night, when everyone has spent all day playing in my wintery world, they all gather together and laugh and play into the night. Music pours out of buildings, into the snow covered streets, and everyone's happy. It's how every winter's day should be."

Baby Tooth tried to imagine a place like the one Jack was describing, but she'd never had to collect a tooth from the Alps. It sounded incredible. "Can we go there?"

Jack smiled up at Baby Tooth, watching as the rising moon played in her hair, dying it shinning silver. He really needed to work on this blushing issue. "Sure."

* * *

In this way Baby Tooth and Jack passed the days between the autumn equinox and the time when winter would come to the rest of the north. While most of that hemisphere enjoyed autumn, Jack and Baby Tooth visited the mountains of the world, bringing laughter and snow wherever they went. Soon, though, the time came for Jack to spread his icy touch to all. With Baby Tooth by his side he set out to create the first snow day of the season.


	8. Chapter 8

It was midnight in Burgess when Jack and Baby Tooth arrived, dream sand swirled through the air and a few fairies darted through the town, collecting teeth from sleeping children. Jack had carefully chosen this town to be directly in the path of his oncoming storm, a gift to his tiny group of believers. He'd already begun the motions, his storm was currently moving down from the great lakes towards New York and the rest of the east coast.

"Ready?"

Baby Tooth nodded. Her first chance to experience a snow day and Jack was letting her call the snow! Frost traced from her bare feet, covering the rooftop below her, as her staff began to glow. High above her, in the atmosphere, the winds changed and the storm turned ever so slightly. In the morning the weather man would find that his predictions for the storm had somehow been wrong and the children would wake the find school closed for the day. For now, though, all was silent in the little town.

As Baby Tooth struggled to control the storm Jack watched, letting her do this her way. Sure, had it been him, he'd be flying along with the winds, leading winter's charge as it consumed the cities and country, but as the first flurries began to fall he decided that maybe there was something to be said for waiting for the snow to reach you. He rarely watched one of his storms overtake a town. Normally, he was too busy rushing around, guiding the winds and snow, only to return well after the snow had started or even after the storm had breathed its last, leaving a coating of white as the only sign it had ever come.

The storm turned, Baby Tooth sank to her knees beside him, smiling tiredly. Controlling the weather was hard work! "How'd I do?"

Jack looked up into the cloudy sky, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Well, young pupil, I must go and inspect your work."

Baby Tooth blinked in surprise as Jack disappeared into the clouds before rolling her eyes. By now she knew he could have told her right away if she'd got it right. He just wanted an excuse to move. Jack wasn't very good at sitting still. She giggled, but that was one of the things she loved about Jack.

While she waited for his return, Baby Tooth lay back on the rooftop and let her eyes droop. Like all spirits, she didn't need much sleep, but after a magical exercise like moving a storm even she could use some shut eye.

* * *

Jack returned moments later, ready to shower Baby Tooth with praise for a doing a perfect job. Instead he found his little helper fast asleep. He silently gazed down on her slumbering form as the snowflakes fell, debating what to do. Well, they couldn't say here. Decision made, he cautiously pick her up, letting the wind carrying them away from the town and back to the lake he'd called home for so long. Here, amidst the shelter of the trees, Jack laid his delicate burden down on a blanket of snow. After he'd made sure she was comfortable he stood up, leaning against his staff as he watched over her sleeping form. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do in a case like this.

He certainly couldn't leave her alone in the middle of the forest, even if no one could see her but a handful of children. Watching over her as she slept seemed somehow creepy. He scanned the area, debating on a course of action when his gaze fell upon the lake. He'd stood on its iced surface thousands of time, but how long had it been since he'd ice skated? Thinking back he couldn't remember a time when he had, something had always held him back. Now that he had a name for that tiny seed of fear it no longer seemed so scary.

He walked over to the lake, bending down to quietly touch its surface. It wasn't frozen, yet, but that was about to change. Frost spread out from his hand, coating the lake in a thin layer of ice. Glancing down at his feet he chuckled lightly. After months of being pestered by North to wear some shoes who knew he'd be making himself the first pair he'd worn in over 300 years?

* * *

She awoke to the glow of early morning sunshine and laughter. As Baby Tooth rubbed the sleep from her eyes she turned towards the source of the mirth and grinned. Jack was zooming across an ice covered lake, twirling across the surface with a dancer's grace.

She'd seen ice skaters before, glimpses caught in the night of couples twirling across frozen ponds in cities the world over, but she hadn't had time to watch how beautiful it was. Like everything else over the past two months, Jack was quickly making her realize how wonderful and fun the world was.

She stood up, not bothering to brush off the snow that clung to her clothing, and walked to the edge of the lake and studied the skating Guardian. Jack's eyes were closed, giving her a chance to take in the scene before he noticed her. She remembered what he'd told her, how he'd saved his sister from an watery doom. If she'd suffered his fate she didn't think she'd be able to skate again, but Jack never seemed to let anything hold him back from having fun. Even when faced with the king of fear his natural instinct was to play games and bring laughter.

By now Jack had opened his eyes and caught sight of her. His twirling dance slowed to a halt and he glided over to stand before her. "Ever ice skated before?"

She shook her head, when would she have had time to ice skate?

"Well, you're going to learn from a pro!" Jack traced his staff along the ground, forming two, tiny lines of ice that slowly grew into a shimmering pair of skates. Baby Tooth stared at the ice skates before glancing down at Jack's feet.

"You're wearing shoes!"

Jack's face adopted a serious expression, though his eyes still shinned with laughter, "Shh, that's going to be our little secret. Now try them on!"

Baby Tooth sat down, carefully placing the ice shoes on her feet. When she set them on her feet they were nothing more than platforms of ice with blades sticking out, but as soon as she had them centered on her foot Jack made the ice climb up, wrapping her feet in a frosty cocoon.

The skates on she began to stand up, only to fall right back down. Jack stifled a laugh and reached down, gently taking her hands in his and helping her to her feet. "Don't worry, everyone falls down the first time."

Baby Tooth nodded, keeping her eyes glued on her feet as Jack lead her onto the ice. She could feel herself wobbling, but his firm grip kept her upright. "You know, you're not going to have any fun if you keep watching your feet."

She looked up into wintry eyes and gulped. "Okay."

"Now, keep your eyes on me," Jack said as he began to skate backward, pulling her along the pond with him. Baby Tooth kept her feet firmly on the ice, not daring to pick them up like Jack did. "I'm not going to pull you along forever, you're going to have to try actually skating, Baby Tooth."

"But what if I fall again?"

"I'll catch you before you have a chance to hit the ground. Trust me, you know I'd never let you fall."

She did trust him. Locking her cloud like eyes with Jack's icy orb she took a deep breath and picked a skate off the ice. She trembled lightly, but his arms tightened to stop her wobbling as she carefully put the skate back down, gently pushing against the frozen surface. The pressure gently eased her forward, pushing Jack back as he beamed down at her. Encouraged by his approval she tried again with her other foot. This time she wobbled a little less. A cautious smile began to form on her pale lips as her confidence grew. Soon Jack had let her go and she was gliding along the pond in tiny circles.

Jack skated by her side, facing backwards so he could keep an eye on the her. "You're doing great! Wanna try a twirl?"

The smile vanished from her face as she stared with him with wide eyes, shaking her head vigorously. Oh no, she didn't think she could do that!

Laughter burst form from frosty lips, "You can totally do it!"

"Jack, can't we stick to circles?"

"Nope. My game, my rules, and I say you're going to learn how to do a twirl."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the center of the pond, leaving her standing there as he zoomed away. "Now, watch me."

He sped along the ice, picking up speed, and then flew into the air, wind whipping about him as he spun through the air, easily landing on one foot and turning back towards Baby Tooth. Whooping with glee he slid to a stop before her. "Your turn."

"Jack, I don't know."

"Come on, have I steered you wrong yet?"

"No."

"Then try. I won't let you fall."

Cautiously, Baby Tooth began to skim along the ice, slowly beginning to pick up speed. As she moved faster and faster she heard Jack shout, "Now."

Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and leapt into the air, ready to fall onto the ice. Instead a strong wind surrounded her, lifting her higher and higher. Her eyes flew open and she saw Jack, grinning at her as he flew by her side, staff in hand. "Told you I wouldn't let you fall."

Laughter bubbled forth from her lips and she pirouetted on the breeze before Jack lowered her back onto the frozen water.

"Want to go again?" He asked.

"Yes!"

This time there was no fear as she launched into the air, giggling as Jack caught her in the wind. This time, however, he landed on the pond before setting her onto the ice beside him. He grinned down at her. He was only a few inches taller, but it was a large enough gap that she still felt tiny and safe by his side.

They stood there, laughing in the wintery morning air until excited cries of "Jack!" came drifting on the breeze.

The Winter Spirit jumped into the air, skates melting from his feet. "That's Jamie! Come on Baby Tooth, we've got a snow day to enjoy!"

She bobbed her head in agreement and skated back to the edge of the pond, grabbing her staff from the ground where she'd left it and letting Jack remove her skates. For a brief moment she found herself wishing the young boy had waited just a little longer before coming to find his favorite Guardian, but the thought melted away like a spring thaw as she raced through the air towards her first encounter with children who could actually see her.


	9. Chapter 9

Jamie waited with baited breath at the edge of the forest. The weather man had said that the storm wasn't going to hit them, but here he was standing on top of 6 inches of powdery snowball material. That could only mean one thing, Jack was back in town!

The echoing sounds of laughter proved him right as Jack shot out of the forest and landed before the boy, his face alight with excitement, "You called?"

Jamie ran to the taller boy, wrapping his arms around Jack's torso. "I missed you."

A tender smile crossed the immortal's face as he crouched down to the younger boys level. "I missed you too, buddy. Ready to have an awesome snow day?"

Jamie jumped up and down with glee shouting, "Yes!" with all his might. Then he noticed the girl. She stood behind Jack, watching Jamie with snowy grey eyes that were full of curiosity.

"Jack, who's that?" He asked, pointing at Baby Tooth.

"Hmm? Oh, Jamie, meet Baby Tooth!" He motioned for the girl to come forward, which she hesitantly did.

Jamie was fascinated by the girl. "I thought you were the only winter spirit?"

Jack shrugged, grinning, "Normally I am, but I've got a helper this season."

He lowered his voice, cupping a hand around his mouth as if he was going to tell Jamie a very special secret, "See, she's normally a tooth fairy, but a friend of ours decided she needed to spend some time seeing just how fun winter is. Think you can help me show her?"

The young believer's eyes filled with anticipation and he gave Jack a conspiratorial thumbs up.

Meanwhile Baby Tooth had drawn closer, trying to hear what the two boys were whispering about.

Without warning Jack stood up from his crouch and crossed his arms, giving Baby Tooth an appraising once over. "What do you think, Jamie? Where should we start?"

Jamie mimicked Jack's stance, dropping his voice to try and match Jack's tenor. "What has she master so far?"

"Well, she's shown real promise with ice skating and she can throw a mean snowball."

Jamie nodded, scrunching up his face as he thought about what else they could teach Baby Tooth. Then it hit him. Forgetting their current game, he uncrossed his arms and began to lightly bounce up and down with excitement as he looked up at the immortal. "Jack, sledding! Has she done that yet?"

Jack uncrossed him arms and gave Jamie the biggest grin he could. "That is an absolutely fantastic idea!"

Baby Tooth smiled as she watched the two boys conduct this exchange. Jack was positively glowing with joy. Being around Jamie filled her heart with happiness as well. The power of being around a believing child was an incredible feeling.

With a cry of, "I'll go get my sled!" Jamie raced towards his house.

Jack and Baby Tooth watched him go, both still feeling the magical high that his presence had caused.

"Should we follow him?" She asked.

"Nah, he'll be back soon enough. Right now we need to make you a sled!"

* * *

Jamie returned to find Jack and his strange, new friend proudly examining a sled made out of ice. He looked at the beautiful creation for a moment before asking, "Won't that break?"

Jack shook his head, proudly surveying his creation, "Nope! It's made of ice imbued with winter magic."

He turned to Jamie, motioning for him to check out the ice sled, "That kind of ice doesn't break or melt. Only I can get rid of it."

Jamie moved over to the sled and kicked it. It moved a bit, but the ice didn't break. "Cool!" But then, that term could describe everything Jack did.

Jack bowed, graciously accepting the praise, before mirroring Jamie's delighted smile, "I know! Come on, grab your sleds! Jamie, lead the way to your favorite spot, it's time to go sledding!"

He nodded happily, rushing back towards town with Jack and Baby Tooth following right behind. As much as Jack wanted to fly the three of them there he decided that leaving poor Jamie to explain his sudden ability to soar through the air to any adult that saw them would probably be a bad idea.

Still, they reached the sledding hill quickly. When they arrived Jack and Baby Tooth found themselves surrounded by wide eyed children, each eager to play with the incredible Jack Frost whom Jamie and the others had told them so much about.

His plan to teach Baby Tooth how to sled was quickly replaced with a plan to show her how to give children the ultimate sled ride. At his instruction she watched as child after child took off from the hill top only to find themselves gliding along an ice slide. Once he'd decided that she'd seen enough demonstrations he instructed Jamie to get ready for a wild ride.

Unlike when he'd allowed her to control turning the storm, Jack was insistent that they do this together the first time. Baby Tooth was more than willing to let him. This task was far more important than changing the weather. Together they soared into the air beside Jamie and Jack carefully wrapped his arms around Baby Tooth's, layering their staves one atop the other.

After whispering in her ear, "Remember, I'm right here with you, Baby Tooth." Jack nodded to Jamie and the child shot off the top of the hill.

Baby Tooth followed, staff glowing as she traced a careful pattern of ice below the metal bars of the sled. Jamie let out cries of joy and she turned the sled this way and that with just the tiniest bit of ice.

"Try a ramp!" Jack shouted into the wind.

Baby Tooth obliged and an iced slope grew in front of the rushing youth and his chariot. The other children watched, calling out encouragement to her as the Jamie soared into the air only the land perfectly off of the jump before finally coming to a halt at the hill's base.

As he rolled off the sled, laughing and jumping with excitement the other children crowded around him with cries of "Awesome!" and "Epic!" momentarily ignoring the frosty couple that had made it happen.

While the children crowded Jamie, Jack and Baby Tooth landed on the ground. All of a sudden she found Jack's arms wrapped around her body and she could feel him shaking as he laughed. "You were beyond incredible! A natural! I didn't have to help at all!"

Baby Tooth's heart was racing faster than Jamie's and it wasn't because of trick she'd just pulled. Heat raced towards her cheeks as she hesitantly reached up and wrapped her hands around Jack's arms, pulling them closer.

He wasn't laughing anymore and she could feel his heart beat starting to race just as fast as hers. She opened her mouth to say something when Jamie burst forth from the group and ran over, joining in on the hug.

"Thank you, Baby Tooth," He said, grinning up to her with happy chocolate colored eyes, "that was awesome!"

She nodded, the moment lost, and Jack pulled away. There was a moment of silence between them before he coughed lightly and called out to the waiting crowd, "So, who's next?"

Eager cries of "Me!" rang through the air as the children rushed up the hill, following Jack to its peak.

Baby Tooth watched them go, her body shaking slightly. What had just happened between her and Jack?

Unaware of the moment that had just passed between the two immortals, Jamie's mind was focused on one thing. He let go of her torso and grabbed her hand in his mitten covered one, "Can you do that again?"

A calming breath, a smile, and a nod were all it took to find herself being dragged up the hill by the excited boy. As she was pulled along Baby Tooth looked up the hill and watched as the children swarmed around Jack, each one hoping to be chosen by the Guardian of Fun as his infectious laughter filled the air. She and Jamie reach the crest and Baby Tooth knew that today was a day she'd always treasure more than any tooth.


	10. Chapter 10

Jamie let out a tired yawn as the trio walked back to his house. He'd had an incredible day of sledding with Jack, Baby Tooth, and all his friends that had ended in the perfect snowball fight. As they neared his house he asked, "Will you be here tomorrow?"

Jack shook his head. "Sorry, Jamie, we've got a whole hemisphere to cover in snow and ice. You can't be the only kids who get to experience a sled ride like that."

He nodded sleepily. "Okay. I get to see you again soon, though, right?"

Jack reached down and ruffled Jamie's snow covered cap. "Of course you do! We'll be back soon with another snow day full of fun!"

Jamie smiled happily through another yawn as they reached his door. He waved goodbye to his friends as he walked towards his door. Just as he reached the doorknob a thought struck him. He turned around and ran back, wrapping his arms around both immortals. "Thank you!"

Quiet laugher was Jack's reply as he lowered himself down to match Jamie's height, wrapping the boy in a frosty embrace. Baby Tooth followed suit, making a frosty Jamie sandwich as the three of them exchanged merry grins.

They let him go and Jamie moved towards his door once more before stopping and smiling back at them, "And Baby Tooth, thanks for hanging out with Jack. I'm glad he has a friend like you."

She nodded at the little boy, watching as he disappeared into the house.

Jack sighed, "This was a good day. Ready to head off to China?"

Baby Tooth stopped smiling and fixed Jack with a confused stare. "China?"

"Yeah! The day's just getting started over there!"

She shook her head, laughing at the excited grin that now dominated Jack's face. "Okay, China it is!"

"Great, race you there!"

Jack shot into the clear evening sky and Baby Tooth happily followed. Today had been incredible and she was eager to have more fun. It didn't matter if these new children could see them, what mattered was watching their faces light up with joy at all of the winter delight she and Jack would bring.

* * *

In China they helped children build towering snow sculptures, in England it was snowball fights and sleigh rides, Japan was skiing, and Russia was snow forts and more snowballs. As winter's grip tightened, Baby Tooth and Jack hopped from continent to continent, country to country, leaving a trail of happy children behind them as November turned to December and Christmas drew near.

On December 18 Jack didn't lead Baby Tooth off to a new city. Instead, they flew north, past the last towns that lay on the edges of the Arctic, all the way to the North Pole. It was time to meet with North and plan the perfect white Christmas, Jack's gift to the world.


	11. Chapter 11

Authors note: Two things. First off, there are a lot of scenes I could write about what happened in the countries Jack and Baby Tooth visited in November and December last chapter or even their time in the Alps from earlier, but they would all be very similar since none of those children can see Jack yet and nothing special happened there. I felt it would get a bit repetitive and slow the story. If enough of you really think it's important I can try to add more details about those times, but you're not missing much other than Baby Tooth's reactions as she gets to see the world up close for the first time and some epic snowball fights.

Two: I'm sorry for the last chapter's length. I finished 9 and thought I was done with Burgess, but then I realized I really ought to add a scene where they take Jamie home. I didn't want to repost the chapter, as several people had already read it, and I was afraid they would miss the edit.

* * *

It was the time of year when the sun never rose on North's workshop and Jack loved that fact. Unending night made sneaking around easy.

"Couldn't we just go through the front door?" Baby Tooth was leaning against her staff, looking on as Jack snuck along the roof top.

"Shh." Jack was looking at her like she was crazy, "Now, what fun is that? I've spent years finding ways to sneak into this place, but now I've got an insider's knowledge to help, too."

Baby Tooth held back a giggle and snuck after Jack. "Now, the yetis know I'm coming, so this will be tricky."

"Won't they just let you past?"

"Nope, not unless I tell them I give up!"

Though Jack had been a Guardian for some months, he still enjoyed this game. The yetis and he had come to a mutual agreement. Jack would try to sneak in at the start of every visit and they would get to test out their security skills.

"Now, let's get inside!"

A few moments later and the couple was standing on an ice ledge, looking into a well-kept room that was currently devoid of life. Baby Tooth watched as Jack tapped the window pane, sending streaks of frost scurrying along the wood. A few of these darted through the window seal and the window opened with a soft click.

That was a neat trick. "How come I can't do that?"

"Because teaching you how to pick a lock would put me on the naughty list until the next millennia," he deadpanned before pushing the window open. Now was the hard part, holding back the arctic breezes that were begging for a chance to flow into the workshop and play. This mission was about stealth.

He jumped inside and turned around, taking Baby Tooth's petite hand in his and helping her in. He knew she was excited to play this game. Sneaking around was something she considered herself an expert at.

He leaned close and whispered in her ear, "Okay, I'm gonna let you lead the way. Right now we're in the yeti's dorms. The workshop is downstairs. To win we have to get there before they catch us. Got it?"

Baby Tooth nodded and scampered to the door. A tiny click sounding as she opened the door and peered into the hallway. The coast was clear for now.

The two snuck into the empty corridor and lifted into the air. Baby Tooth took to the air, darting towards the rafters, and motioned for Jack to follow and stick as close to the ceiling as possible. He winked back, gliding up to join her. She was very good at this. Two yetis turned the corner, but they passed right under them, not thinking to look up.

Maybe the reason Jack had never made it into the work shop was that the chance to send two yetis slipping down an ice coated hallways was far too tempting? He held back today, though. He had told Baby Tooth he was going to follow her lead and a promise was a promise.

When the yetis had vanished into a room Baby Tooth gave a tiny wave and darted forward. Jack followed along.

Soon they reached the hallways end and a long curving stairway. There were no rafters to hide in here.

Baby Tooth considered the challenge for a moment before pointing her staff at the curving wall of the stairs and shooting a beam of ice. An ice mirror formed, allowing her to see the bottom of the stairs, which was currently free of yetis. She zipped down the steps, melting away the ice mirror as she past, Jack following in her wake.

The next floor was another hallway of dorms, but Baby Tooth knew how to handle these now. She and Jack darted along the rafters, avoiding a few more yetis, down another stairway, and along another hallway until they reached a massive elevator shaft.

Jack was impressed.

Baby Tooth didn't bother to wait for the elevator, opting to fly down the shaft instead until they reached the spot where the wall opened up and gave them a full view of the workshop. Here she stopped, peering down into the shop, readying her attack plan, but Jack shot right past her.

He landed before a grey yeti and gave a mischievous bow.

The yeti stared down at the Spirit of Winter before slowly starting to clap. All across the shop the other yetis stopped their work and joined in until the whole roomed echoed with the sound. Jack held up a hand, stopping the applause. "Thank you, thank you, but I'm afraid I can't claim this victory. Our game will go on."

He turned back and motioned for Baby Tooth to join him. "This is the true victor, Phil. I just followed her lead."

Applause broke out once more, louder this time, as the yetis congratulated Baby Tooth on her achievement.

Drawn from his workroom by the noise, North's eyes landed on Jack and he clomped over to greet his, wrapping the boy in a monstrous hug. "Jack! Is good to see you!"

Then he saw Baby Tooth, standing beside Phil, looking around in awe. He let Jack down and moved past him, bending down to Baby Tooth's height.

"Hello, Baby Tooth."

Both winter spirits' eyes widened and Jack was about to ask how the Guardian of Wonder knew when it hit him. He chuckled and walked to North's side. "Guess that whole knowing every child in the world thing has it's perks, huh?"

North let out one of his booming guffaws and Jack swore the floor shook a bit, "Is true. You two may be immortals, but you will forever be seventeen, Jack. I will always know where you are, should need arise."

Jack had always sort of assumed that fact, but the conformation of it still startled him a bit. "So, if you can tell who she is right away, what age is she?"

"Sixteen years, four months, twelve days. Now, I may know name and I may know age, but I am not knowing how she got to be this way. Come, there is much work to be done and I am looking forward to hearing story, my friends." With that, North stood up and began marching through the workshop, calling out comments to yeti's when his gaze fell on a toy that needed an extra touch. Jack looked at Baby Tooth and shrugged before running after North. She was about to follow them when a furry paw took hold of her shoulder.

She stared up at Phil, suddenly nervous. Was he mad that she'd won the game? He didn't look mad.

The yeti let out a few grunts and waved around the workshop with a furry hand.

She immediately understood, "A tour?"

The yeti nodded, quite happy to be so easily understood. A victor deserved a prize, right?

Baby Tooth was so excited she leapt into the air and gave the fuzzy creature a huge hug. "Yes, please! I'd love one!"

As Jack and North discussed weather patterns and schedules Baby Tooth and Phil toured the workshop. She'd seen the main toy room before, but there was so much more than that! First, they took the elevator down to the next lowest level. Here, she discovered, there was a huge workshop where a horde of yetis were busily working away at sewing machines. As she looked around she noticed a familiar pair of shoes in the corner of the room.

"Did they make those for Jack?"

Phil nodded. He had been skeptic that the boy would accept the odd gift, but the sewing yetis had made them anyway. There was no use for such shoes now, but they were far too lovely to throw away, so in the corner they sat.

Then, Baby Tooth saw what the yetis were currently working on and she let out a tiny gasp. Dresses of all colors, shapes, and sizes were being made for little girls the world over. Baby Tooth snuck forward to the first yeti, a brown color female, entranced by the garment in her massive paws. The yeti looked up and gave a furry smile. It was a wonderful feeling to actually see a child admiring her work.

Baby Tooth reached out towards the dress and then stopped, treating the yeti to a hopeful gaze. "Can I touch it?"

She looked at the snow child's hands, they seemed clean enough, and nodded before returning to work. Christmas was too close for long breaks.

Happily, Baby Tooth ran her fingers along the dress. It was silky smooth and made of a glossy blue fabric. She imagined what a dress like that would look like on her and blushed. Guardians and their helpers gave gifts, they did not get them.

She turned back to Phil, who was watching the exchange curiously, trying to wipe the dress from her thoughts. "Where to next?"

The next stop was an enormous kitchen. Yetis bustled about making candy canes, toffee, and other winter treats as they prepared for Christmas. Baby Tooth started to go inside, but Phil held her back and shook his head. The kitchen yetis had only a few days before Christmas to make all of their treats. Perishables were a hard business.

Baby Tooth nodded in understanding and followed Phil back to the elevator that had brought them here.

Next stop was the sleigh chamber and stables. The yetis who worked here happily let her feed the reindeer and talk with them as they went about their work. After she'd greeted each reindeer and given them a piece of sugar, courtesy of a large yeti named Mark, she turned back to Phil and gave a tiny bow.

"Thank you for showing me all of this."

Phil nodded and motioned for her to follow him back to the elevator. When they arrived back at the workshop Baby Tooth found herself suddenly grabbed in the worried embrace of a hoodie clad spirit. "I was so busy with North I didn't notice you were gone until a minute ago. I was just about to go and find you."

"Phil was giving me a tour!" She replied, happily returning Jack's hug.

North watched this scene unfold, stroking his beard as Baby Tooth began to tell a laughing Jack all about what she'd seen. The boy had almost caused a blizzard inside the workshop when he'd realized Baby Tooth wasn't in there. Something was going on between those two, but he didn't think they'd realized it just yet. He thought back to what Jack had just told him about the nature of Baby Tooth's transformation and silently hoped that the two would remain happily oblivious to the feelings that seemed to be growing in their wintry hearts.

Pushing these worried from his mind North stalked back to his workshop. Christmas Even was in 5 days and there was work to be done.

While he went back to double check his list, Jack and Baby Tooth waved good-bye to Phil and the other yetis before heading out into the chilly night. It was time to start working on their Christmas blizzard.


	12. Chapter 12

Blizzards are hard work. As much fun as it was to control the weather, Baby Tooth was very happy to sit on a cloud and watch as Jack did his thing this time. He was busy guiding 4 storms tonight. One would hit Japan, the Chinese coast, and several other Asiatic countries while another descended through Canada and the upper United States. The third storm would hit Russia and most of Europe while and the final one hit the few southern countries that were close enough to the Antarctic to still be cold at this time of year. That one was a tiny storm whose main beneficiaries would be penguins, but the other three were incredible beasts. It was taking all of Jack's energy to control them and keep them from causing enough damage to stop holiday travelers.

He'd started bringing the storms to life after two days of careful planning and had now been using all his power to control his creations for almost three straight days. He looked exhausted and Baby Tooth was feeling more than a little useless. As Jack panted in fatigue he treated her to a happy smile. So what if he'd have to pass out for a day or so when he was done? This was worth it. Today was the 23rd of December and, by tomorrow night, his storms would have the world wrapped in a blanket of fluffy white wonder.

"Baby Tooth?" She nodded, awaiting her orders. "Head back to the Pole and wait for me there. I'm going to need to use all my energy for this and that means you're probably going to get slammed, too."

She hadn't thought about that, but he was probably right. Jack needed to focus on the storm and he didn't need her there to worry him. She didn't like leaving, but it was a good idea.

He gave her a hug goodbye, told her to say "Hi" to Phil, and then he was gone.

* * *

Baby Tooth arrived at the Pole amidst a flurry of snowflakes and knocked on the big red door that marked the entrance. Sneaking in was no fun without Jack.

Phil opened the door and looked down at the frost maiden. His fury face formed a pleased smile and he stepped back, allowing her to enter the workshop.

Yetis were running around placing toys in sacks and yelling at each other in their special language while North oversaw the commotion, joining in the ruckus with shouted orders of his own.

In spite of the commotion the giant man still noticed his guest's arrival. Taking a break from yelling at yetis he came forward to great her with a warm hug. "Baby Tooth! Is good to be seeing you again so soon, but where is Jack."

She opened her mouth to answer, but a yawn of exhaustion took control.

That was all the answer North needed. "I see someone is using a lot of energy today, yes? Phil!"

The yeti snapped to attention.

"Take Baby Tooth to guest room, she will soon be sleeping, I think."

The yeti nodded, picking the frost child up in his arms and carrying her through the busy workshop. By the time they reached the guest wing of the complex she was already fast asleep.

Phil carefully placed her on the bed in one of the empty rooms and hurried back to the workshop. There was a lot of last minute packing to do tonight.

* * *

Hours later, as North was just getting ready to jump into the sleigh and start of into the night, Jack arrived at the Pole.

The boy was exhausted and it was all he could do to propel his body the last few feet to North's door. He didn't even have the energy to knock.

For anyone else this would have meant certain death, but Jack was a child of the winter and so he happily slept on the doorstep until a 6 foot bunny found him there when he arrived for North's annual Christmas party.

Bunny picked up the sleeping boy and brought him inside as Phil opened the door. The yeti had already prepared a room for Jack, expecting something like this to happen.

Jack didn't even stir as he was placed onto the soft bed, his staff left resting against the bed frame.

His storms had been perfectly executed. Not one flight had been delayed, but every city and town had been turned into a snow covered work of art and, when Jack and Baby Tooth awoke the next day, Christmas would be waiting.


	13. Chapter 13

"Oye, Frosty, time to get moving!"

Jack yawned, sitting up to find himself on a soft bed in the middle of what could only be North's workshop. How had he gotten here? Oh, right, the storms. That had been exhausting. Then he remembered sending Baby Tooth on ahead. Had she made it here alright?

He jumped out of bed, forgetting to even grab his staff, and rushing towards the hallway only to find himself stopped by fur covered paws.

"Now what's got you so agitated?"

"Baby Tooth! Did she make it here okay? I was so busy with the storms that I…"

"Whoa, slow down! Care to start over from the beginning?" The Easter Bunny was looking at Jack like he'd gone mad.

"Baby Tooth! I sent her on ahead in case I used too much energy, but I never checked to make sure she got here! I was just so tired, but that shouldn't have stopped me!" Jack was panicking now. Every time he left her alone Jack found himself remembering when he'd lost her in Pitch's layer. That mistake had almost cost both of them their lives.

"Baby Tooth? You mean that little tooth fairy that's always sitting on your shoulder? Why was she in the middle of a blizzard with you?" Bunny was totally lost by now and Jack was now spouting even more nonsense about stars, Pitch, and wishes.

"Jack?" A tiny voice interrupted the Guardian's rant and Bunny stared at the young girl with snow colored hair that was standing in the doorway. She was dressed almost identically to Jack, she even had one of those bloody staffs he always carried about! Bunny's worst fear was coming true, Jack had learned how to make a duplicate of himself! No, he had to be dreaming! Sandy was playing a joke, that was it!

Baby Tooth examined the now hyperventilating rabbit from her position in the doorway for all of five seconds before Jack had rushed out to grab her in a tight embrace. He seemed to be doing that a lot as of late.

"I'm so sorry I didn't make sure you got her safely. I don't know what I was thinking!"

"Jack, I'm fine! North was very nice to me. He even gave me my own room!" She pointed to the door beside Jack's, which was hanging open to revel a tiny room with an obviously slept in bed.

Jack nodded, still keeping his arms entwined about her waist protectively.

Bunny slowly crept forward, transfixed by the winter duo. The two watched him in turn, curious to see what exactly he was going to do. Finally, Bunny managed to choke out a squeaky, "How?"

The wicked smirk that crept across Jack's face at this just made Bunny even more nervous.

Oh, this was perfect. Jack had forgotten that Bunny and Sandy probably had no idea about what had happened. Looping his arm casually around Baby Tooth's shoulders Jack gave the Guardian of Hope a little half bow. "Ta-da! What do you think? I finally figured out how to make a snow angel come to life!"

Baby Tooth thought about her new title for a moment and decided she liked it. She could play this game, at least for a little bit. Jack gave her a tiny nudge that seemed to say, "Go ahead!"

"Oh yes, Master Frost brought me and my sisters to life so we could help him bring winter and fun to your world!"

Bunny's eyes grew even wider. "Sisters?"

"Indeed, all one hundred and ninety six of us."

The anthropomorphic Guardian sank to his knees, picturing the havoc that many Jacks would cause. "One hundred and ninety six?"

"Yes! One for each country in the world!"

Bunny turned an accusing glare on the now doubled over Jack. "And what exactly do you plan to do with one hundred and ninety six feminine copies of yourself?"

Jack stopped laughing, his expression turning serious. "Well, I thought they could help with my plans for this year's Easter."

"Oh no!" Bunny was now inches away from the stoic boy, his face a mask of animalistic fury, "Now you listen here, Jack, I don't care if you're a Guardian now! No one messes with…"

"BABY TOOTH!" The Tooth Fairy swooped down the hallway, wrapping her shinny arms around the girl. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you. How have you been enjoying winter? Oh, and look at your teeth! They're so white now!"

As Toothiana examined her former fairy Bunny came back to reality and finally remembered Jack's ranting prior to the girl's appearance. He pulled back, giving Jack some space, and faced the chattering females, "Baby Tooth?"

Toothiana stopped babbling on about molars and turned back to Bunny, "Yes! Didn't Jack tell you that the Evening Star had transformed her into a winter spirit?"

Sounds of mirth were echoing from down the hallway where Jack had sped the moment Bunny's stare had changed targets. Bunny growled and chased after him. It hadn't even been that good of a joke.

* * *

When he caught up to the boy, Jack had stopped in his tracks, staring in wonder at the sight before them. The workshop was covered in twinkling Christmas lights and tinsel, evergreens covered in candy canes dotted the room, and an enormous feast was being carried in by the yetis. Trust North to be able to inspire wonder even an immortal child. Bunny looked at the boy's face and decided he could be mad at Jack later. For now he was going to enjoy watching the kid partake in his first Christmas party in three centuries.


	14. Chapter 14

The other three Guardians had arrived on Christmas Eve as Jack and Baby Tooth slept, celebrating the night away with North as the yetis rested from the last few days of the Christmas rush. Every year the Guardians of Imagination, Hope, and Innocence helped the Master of Christmas decorate his workshop for Christmas day in a private celebrate that lasted all night long. Christmas day was just a continuation of that celebration, only on a much larger scale. Yetis, elves, and Guardians would spend today in a true yuletide celebration and all were looking forward to watching Jack join in for the first time.

Despite the fact that they spent their lives bringing joy to children, they so rarely got to watch those children enjoy their gifts. For the first time the big four had a child all their own, even if he was a three hundred year old one.

Though Sandy and Bunny were surprised by the addition of Baby Tooth neither one seemed to mind having two children at the Christmas table.

* * *

"And here is present for Phil!" North announced, pulling the final bundle from beneath the tree. Each year they all got the same thing, specially made hair ties that only North could produce, but they liked the gifts all the same. It was hard to find a hair tie that didn't slip off their soft fur!

Meanwhile the elves were more than happy with new socks and outfits.

North never gave his fellow Guardian's gifts, though. By some unspoken rule they had each decided long ago that there was really nothing any of them wanted or needed from each other. Their only gifts had always been friendship and time, both rare commodities indeed.

Baby Tooth, however, was longingly looking on as the yetis admired their gifts. Tooth fairies didn't get gifts, but then, there wasn't anything they needed that Mama Tooth didn't provide in excess.

Jack saw the look on her face, though, and came up with a plan.

He jumped from his perch by her side and summoned up a snowball. It was an act Baby Tooth had seen him do a thousand times over, but this snowball was different from the others. He placed it in her hands with a cry of, "Merry Christmas," obviously quite pleased with his gift.

The other Guardians watched on, curious what exactly Jack expected the girl to do with a snowball.

The Tooth Fairy spoke first, "It's a very nice snowball, Jack."

His proud air changed to one bewilderment for a flash before he realized his mistake. "Oh, right! I guess I haven't shown any of you one of these before."

He took the snowball back and ran a finger along the outside, applying just a touch of winter magic. With a magical pop, a line appeared along the diameter of snowballs surface. A little pressure from Jack's icy hands and the snowball flew open to reveal a hollow center. Inside the hollow sphere lay a coiled bracelet made of ice. Its frozen links were charms in the forms of snowflakes, sleds, and tiny tooth fairies.

He handed Baby Tooth the treasure once more and she pulled the bracelet out, letting the lights of the workshop play off of the crystal like substance that formed it as the other Guardians watched in awe.

Jack was beaming now that he was getting the appropriate response for his cleverness and Baby Tooth slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. It was the first present she'd ever gotten.

Seeing this exchange North jumped up from his chair, startling the group, and to his office.

He returned with a tiny package wrapped in deep blue wrapping paper, which he handed to Jack, "I am forgetting Jack's gift. Forgive me, Jack, is not often I have child here who is owed gift. In fact, is not ever before!"

It broke tradition, but the look and Jack's face was all it took for the other Guardians to find themselves perfectly fine with North's actions.

Jack fell to the floor, not even bothering to take a seat, and tore open the package. Inside, on a tiny chain, was a silver key. Jack stared at it for a few moments before looking up at North for an explanation.

The older man smiled, "Is key to workshop, Jack. You are Guardian now and, though I know you will be continuing to sneak in, I want you to know you are always welcome here."

It was a good thing that North was so sturdy, otherwise the force of Jack smashing into his arms would have surely knocked him down.

* * *

Bunny was happily snoozing by the fire, sand carrots dancing around his head. Jack and Baby Tooth watched the scene from their perch on the edge of the railing that ran around the room's perimeter. They weren't touching, just sitting side by side, laughing, talking, and making tiny frost pattern on the floor below them as the clocked ticked down the last few minutes of the holiday.

Across the room Toothiana, Sandy, and North were having a serious discussion.

"You saw him today," North whispered, "he is falling in love with her!"

Tooth, having only just learned of the changes to her former fairy's wish, couldn't help but agree. "I know, but what can we do, North? We can't control someone's heart!"

The large man sighed and looked over at the couple. Jack had never looked so happy. "Yes, but we can keep busy. If they don't have chance to realize they are in love then they don't have hearts broken when this ends."


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Note: I am literally pumping this story out as fast as I can so I'm sure I've misspelled a word here or there/made a grammatical error or five. Please let me know if you see a mistake like that, so I can fix it, and thank you to those who already have!

* * *

As the clock struck midnight Bunny jumped awake, twirling around the room, trying to find the source of the chimes. There were no clocks in the warren.

The amused snickers of Baby Tooth and Jack made him frown. He wasn't a fan of how often he'd been laughed at today.

Seeing that he was awake, the other three Guardians made their way across the workshop and joined the group once more. Jack was startled to realize that they'd left. When had that happened? He was normally good at paying attention to what was going on around him.

North spoke first, "I see you are up from nap, my friend!"

"Yeah, sorry about that, mate. It's been a long time since I ate that much in one go!"

Tooth giggle, "That's what you say every year!"

It was true, Bunny's Christmas nap had become an accepted tradition among the big four and, now that he was up, it was time to say goodbye.

Tooth left first, after a quick hug from everyone and a tiny peek at Jack's teeth. Then Sandy took off. He wasn't really needed tonight, Christmas day inspired excellent dreams even without his help, but there were still a few children who would have troubled sleep tonight. The world was far from a perfect place.

With a tired wave Bunny disappeared down a hole, ready to go back to the Warren and finish up his nap in the afternoon sun that always shone there.

That left only Jack and Baby Tooth. Realizing that it was probably time for them to head out, too, Jack took Baby Tooth's hand and began to head for the door when North stopped him.

"Jack, why don't you two stay here a few more days? You still seem tired from Christmas snows."

The young Guardian thought about the offer for a moment and then smiled. That did sound like fun. "What do you think, Baby Tooth?"

The grey eyed girl nodded eagerly, she liked spending time in this magical place.

And so it was that Jack and Baby Tooth spent the remained of the holiday season at the Pole. What had once been Jack's least favorite time of year, those days between Christmas and New Year's when others were busy spending time with family and relatives, was quickly becoming his favorite. For once, he let nature take over and not a single flurry fell due to the magic of the mischievous Guardian.

North seemed glad to have them, too. This was the time of year when he tried his hand at inventing new toys for the following Christmas and he was constantly having them help these creations. At times when they North decided they needed a break from inventing he and Jack would go to his office and play with North's magical ice creations. Jack had never seen living ice before, but he proved to be a natural craftsman, though North was the only one who could make the creations come to life.

At first, Baby Tooth would watch as then men sculpted, even trying her own hand at the craft once or twice, but she soon began to use that time to wonder through North's kingdom. More often than not Jack would finish a carving session only to find her in the stable playing with the reindeer or up in the yeti dorms, learning how to paint from the toy makers who were currently on their two week long, post season, break.

It was a happy time for both of them, but Jack had spent too long living as a nomad to yet be comfortable staying in one place for too long and so, when January 8th arrived, the day that the yeti's and North began toy production for the next season, Jack felt that it was time for them to go. He'd stayed with North for fourteen days, the longest he'd ever spent somewhere in one go.

* * *

"You are leaving?" The sadness in North's face made Jack feel oddly guilty, but Baby Tooth had agreed that they should get back to work bringing fun to this cold season. She was currently saying goodbye to the reindeer while he broke the news to North.

"Yeah, sorry North, I've got a job to do. Guardian of Fun and all that!" Jack grinned as he said it, hoping the older man wouldn't be disappointed for too long.

North sighed, the plan had been going so well. North had been keeping the couple so busy that they rarely had more than a few consecutive minutes alone. He knew he couldn't keep Jack here forever, though. The boy had always been a free spirit.

"Okay, tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes! We must have goodbye feast tonight!"

Jack laughed. He was fast learning that North's idea of a good time often seemed to include food or drinks of some sort. "Okay, tomorrow!"

"Good! I will have yeti's plan feast and then you will be coming with me to ice tunnels. I want to have Spirit of Winter make sure they are nice and sturdy so yetis stop worrying."

* * *

"Jack?"

At North's insistence the two of them were walking along the sleigh track and Jack was running his hands along the frozen walls, reinforcing them, just to be safe. Baby Tooth had asked to come, but North had said Phil needed her to help test a new alarm system the yeti was preparing as a surprise for Jack. Reluctantly, she had agreed to go and help. The past few days had been wonderful, but it seemed like she was getting to spend less and less time with Jack.

"Yeah?"

"Have you chosen home yet?"

Oh, that. Jack draped his cane across his shoulders and avoided North's eyes. "Well, I haven't really gotten around to it, you know. The south pole seems the natural choice, though."

North was intently watching the frosted silver key bouncing against Jack's chest. The boy never took it off. "South Pole?"

Now he did look at North, grinning gleefully, "Yeah! You know, lots of ice, snow, and penguins, the kind of stuff people usually associate with me!"

"Penguins are associated with Jack Frost?"

"Well, not yet, but I thought I could try and change that. Don't tell Baby Tooth, though. She doesn't think it's a good idea."

"Jack, when I said you needed to choose home I did not mean you need to hide away from world and live with penguins!"

The boy looked confused, "Then what did you mean?"

North sighed, "Everyone, even a Guardian, needs home, Jack. I don't care if you only visit once every hundred years, you are needing home. Should not be lonely place, though. You have seen homes of Bunny, Tooth, and I. They are places full of joy and magic!"

"Yeah, well, I'm kind of limited in my choices. There aren't many places in the world where it's always cold."

"There is here?"

"Live with you?" Jack admitted that the idea was tempting, but this was North's home, not his. He'd always be a guest and never master of the house.

"No." North spoke firmly, clearly agreeing with Jack's opinion on the matter, "Live at Pole. There is much space here, my friend, and I would be liking to have neighbor who is so good at carving ice."

Jack stopped walking. He hadn't thought about the possibility that he could make his home near another Guardian. He'd always viewed their palaces as mere features of the kingdoms they controlled, but maybe North didn't see it that way. "I'll think about it."

North nodded, "That is all I can ask. Come now! We have feast to attend!"

The pair happily made their way back through the ice tunnels, talking about Jack's opinions on the toys North had shown him the day before. Though he was chatting away about North's inventions, inside Jack's mind was whirling. Live next to North? Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea. He wondered what Baby Tooth would think. He's have to ask her tomorrow as they flew to Burgess, it was time visit Jamie once again.


	16. Chapter 16

Jack and Baby Tooth's departure from the Pole was full of furry hugs and sad yetis. The creatures had enjoyed having the two teenagers around. As the two waved their last goodbye and took off into the winter sky North departed to visit the other Guardians. He had done all he could and now it was time for the others to try their hands at keeping the two adolescents busy.

* * *

"North, how exactly do you think I'm supposed to keep Jack and Baby Tooth busy?" Toothiana hovered before the man, arms crossed, her face a mask of exasperation.

A shrug was the only answer he could give.

The Guardian of Innocence heaved a sigh and softly placed a shimmering hand on North's shoulder. "I'm worried about them, too. Baby Tooth is as much my daughter as Jack is your son, but I can't exactly ask them to go and collect teeth for me. They'd know something was up!"

"Then Sandy…"

"Has even less that he'd need help with. Jack can't bring a child good dreams." A thoughtful look entered her eyes, "Though I guess he's pretty helpful at tiring them out."

North let loose a half-hearted chuckle. She was right. Even Bunny wouldn't be in need of help for weeks. Easter was two and a half months away, far too early for the Guardian to begin to prepare his eggs.

"Then what do we do?"

Tooth removed her hand from his shoulder and wrapped her arms around her tiny body. She looked absolutely helpless. "I don't know. I'd hoped they'd be willing to stay at the Pole with you at least a bit longer."

"Hello." The Australian twang was noticeable even when Bunny uttered just a single word. The two Guardian's turned to face the latest arrival, slightly embarrassed.

"I just swung by the Pole to see if Jack was there, thought I might enlist his help with Easter this year. Can't be too careful, after all. But when I get there I discover that North has disappeared and no one knows where he is so I come here, to see if Tooth knows, and I find you two plotting how to keep Jack and that little Sheila of his apart?"

"Bunny, you didn't see the way…"

"I saw exactly what was going on between them, probably before the rest of you! Did you know the first thing Jack did when he woke up Christmas morning was try to find her? The kid even forgot that bloody staff of his he was so worried!"

Tooth hid her face in her hands, stifling a sob, before whispering "Do you think he knows?"

Bunny shrugged. "Jack's a smart kid, but this is all so knew to him, maybe he won't figure it out and maybe he will. All we can do is be there when it happens. We've spent the past three hundred years ignoring him and we can't suddenly start trying to control his life, agreed?"

The Guardians of Wonder and Innocence greeted his speech with silent nods. Bunny was right, all they could do was wait and hope nothing happened.

* * *

While the three Guardians held this little conference Jack and Baby Tooth were speedily making their way to Burgess. "Jamie's going to be so thrilled when he sees us! North wouldn't tell me what he got him, but I bet it was a new sled!"

Baby Tooth listened as Jack rambled on about his favorite child, just happy to finally be able to spend time together. If she didn't know better she would have sworn North had been actively keeping them from having a moment of down time during their time at the Pole. That was silly, though.

She shook her head, clearing her mind of the strange musings, and focused on the world rushing by below them. They had left North's kingdom and were zooming through Canada, on their way to Burgess, a midwinter storm brewing in their wake. A flash of light on her wrist caught her eye and Baby Tooth admired her bracelet for what had to be the hundredth time.

"Jack?"

He stopped mid rant and tilted his head so that he was looking at her. "What's up?"

"I don't think I ever thanked you for my present."

Jack laughed, "No, I guess you didn't, but that's okay."

"Well, thank you." She reached over and took his free hand, giving it a tiny squeeze.

Jack's skin turned crimson and turned his gaze back to the world below. "You're welcome."

Neither of them said anything else as flew along, but their hands stayed intertwined all the way to Burgess.

* * *

Upon arriving in town Jack immediately lead Baby Tooth to Jamie's window. It was nearing dusk and Jack doubted that the young child's protective mother would allow him to be outside this late.

He was almost right. Jamie was in his room, but he was in bed and his cheeks were painted scarlet with fever. Jack dropped Baby Tooth's hand and quickly opened the window, flying to the child's side.

"Jamie!"

Cloudy brown eyes treated Jack to an half focused gaze. "Jack?"

"Who else would be sneaking into your room from the window?"

Jamie smiled. "I knew you'd be back soon."

Jack sat down at the edge of the little bed, his eyes locked on the sick youth, "I promised I would, didn't I? I've got a huge snow storm coming right behind me, too. We're talking at least a foot of snow!"

Jamie's smile turned to a sad frown, "But I'm sick. I can't go out in the snow."

Baby Tooth saw Jack searching for the right words and stepped forward, brushing a frosty hand along fevered brow, "Who ever said you had to go outside to enjoy a snowstorm?"

The smile returned and Jamie snuggled tight under the covers, enjoying the relief of her cool touch, "That's true. Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you two stay until I get better?"

Jack and Baby Tooth responded in harmony with a heartfelt, "Of course."

Hearing the noise, Jamie's mother rushed into the room, looking worriedly at her mumbling son. She sat down on the bed next to ailing child, unaware of the two teenagers that were currently visiting. "Jamie, sweetie, who are you talking to?"

The sleepy mumble of "Jack Frost" made her smile. "What did Jack have to say?"

"He's gonna bring me a snowstorm, mommy."

"Then I guess you'd better get better soon so you can go out and play with him."

Jamie mumbled a reply, his eyes dropping shut. Jack looked terrified, but Baby Tooth sat down beside him and wrapped an arm around his waist. Jamie's mother took the sleeping boy's temperature and left the room. Once she was gone, Baby Tooth whispered, "Children get sick all the time, Jack, but he'll be fine. You know how strong Jamie is."

"It's just, the only time I saw someone this sick was… back then. I don't think they made it."

Baby Tooth rested her head against Jack's shoulder. "Things are different now. Medicine is a lot better. If Jamie was really in danger he'd be in a hospital, not at home."

Jack let out a deep breath, "Since when did you know so much about being sick?"

A tiny laugh escaped pale lips and her grip of his waist tightened, "I've had to collect plenty of teeth from hospitals. I've seen lots of sick kids over the years."

Jack finally stopped staring at Jamie and regarded the girl leaning against his shoulder with interest. "I didn't know that."

"Yep. Sick kids loose teeth just the same as healthy ones."

They sat in silence for a while longer, watching as Jamie slept. "Wanna learn how to make one of those snowballs?"

"Hmm?"

"The special kind, like I put your bracelet in."

"M'kay."

Though the offer had been made and accepted, neither of them moved. Jack found sitting there, watching over Jamie with Baby Tooth by his side, oddly relaxing and he was perfectly fine staying like this until Jamie woke up.

While the two sat in comfortable silence a certain Guardian of Dreams arrived in town. Ever since Jamie and his friends had brought him back to life Sandy had felt a heightened attachment to them. His travels often lead him here and Sandy always took the time to peak in the windows of those who had revived him. When he looked into Jamie's room he saw the peaceful couple inside and remembered what North had told him at Christmas.

It was obviously far worse than they'd though. He considered catching Jack's attention and breaking apart the scene, but then he thought better of it. North's plan had been to stop the two from realizing they were in love and Sandy wasn't so sure that was even possible anymore. Instead he sent a flicker of dream sand spiraling into the room, sending all three occupants into deep slumber.

Above Jamie's head appeared an image of three people having a snowball fight, two of these were carrying staff's and flying. Above the snowy mane of hair that covered Baby Tooth's pale face was an image of a young couple walking hand and hand through a sand snowstorm. The image that formed above Jack, however, confirmed Sandy's fear. In Jack's dream that same couple was kissing.


	17. Chapter 17

Jack awoke to sunlight and a strange, but agreeable, pressure at his side. As he blinked away the last bits of dream sand from his eyes, he was going to have to have a talk with Sandy about putting him to sleep without asking, he glanced at the pressure source. Baby Tooth's was still resting against his shoulder, her hands encircling his body loosely. Remembering the last time he'd awoken, when he hadn't known where she was or if she was safe, Jack wrapped his arms around the sleeping figure in a soft hug.

Feeling her pillow shift, Baby Tooth let out a delicate yawn and woke up. Not yet ready to give up her comfortable position, she didn't look at Jack, but she hugged him back all the same.

Jack's soft smile turned into a wide grin for reasons he didn't really understand, "Morning, Baby Tooth."

A sleepy whisper of, "Morning, Jack," reached his ears as she snuggled closer into Jack's frosty embrace. Being a winter spirit meant Baby Tooth was attracted to the coldest thing in the room as a normal girl would be attracted to a fire. In this warm, little room, that was Jack.

He laughed and tightened his grip around her, resting his chin on top of snow white hair. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Baby Tooth mumbled, "How's Jamie."

A tiny prick of guilt surged through Jack as he realized he'd completely forgotten the boy. Oops.

He tore his gaze away from the girl in his arms and trained it on Jamie. The brunet was still asleep, but the fevered blush was nowhere to be seen. Despite Jack's limited knowledge of illness he knew that was a good thing. He turned back to Baby Tooth, who was still slowly waking up. "Jamie's good. He's not red anymore."

Baby Tooth sighed happily, "His fever broke?"

Jack blinked, unused to the strange terms spouting from her icy cold lips. "Fever broke?"

Sensing that she wasn't going to get to fall back asleep, Baby Tooth sat up, unwinding her arms from Jack's body, and stretched. Another yawn escaped her mouth, this time accompanied by a sleepy coo. Jack had never seen anything so cute. "A fever breaking means that he's passed the worst part of the sickness and is starting to get better."

"Oh." Jack examined Jamie's now pale face and decided that he did indeed look much better. "Probably."

Baby Tooth stood up and made her way along the bed, stopping before the sleeping Jamie. "I'd say so, too. He looks much better now, Jack."

The bedroom door flew open and a little girl with blond hair raced in, stopping in surprise when she saw the two unexpected visitors. Surprise change to excitement and Sophie flew into Jack's arms. "Jack!"

"Hey there, Sophie. I didn't see you last time."

The toddler gave Jack an adorable glare, "I know! Jamie got to have all the fun! Sophie wants to go sledding with Jack, too."

The commotion had awoken the final sleeper from dreamland and Jamie was now laughing, watching as Jack was berated for giving all of his attention to the older children.

"Looks like you're feeling better," said his mother as she came to see what was causing all of the noise.

Jamie nodded happily. "I feel a lot better today, mom. I bet I can even go outside!"

Mrs. Bennett mussed her son's hair and smiled, "I think we should make sure you really are all better before you go running around in the cold."

"But mom!"

"No buts, mister!"

Jamie gave Jack and Baby Tooth a pleading look, but the teenagers shrugged and Baby Tooth said, "Your mom's right, Jamie. You don't want to get sick again, right? Besides, Jack and I will stay inside with you all day, just like we promised."

The child crossed his arms sulkily, but agreed to stay in bed another day.

Mrs. Bennett, unaware of her invisible helpers, was pleasantly surprised by her son's complacency and gave him a tender hug. "I know it's no fun, but it's for the best."

Jack raised an eyebrow at this, "No fun? Is that a challenge?"

Jamie giggled, confusing his poor mother even more. "What's so funny?"

"Jack says that's a challenge."

"Oh, is Jack still here?"

"Yep! So is his girlfriend! They're going to play with me since I can't go outside."

Jack's amused grin changed into wide eyes and a shocked expression while Baby Tooth's face was covered in a crimson flush. Neither teen looked at the other. They both knew what Jamie meant by the term, but the implications were still there. Jamie, busily focused on his mother, didn't even notice the effect of his words.

"That's very nice of them, Jamie. Make sure you say thank you. Now I'm going to go get you a big glass of orange juice and some pancakes, sound good?"

It sounded very good to the hungry Jamie, "Blueberry pancakes?"

"If that's what you want."

"Yes!"

"Okay then, blueberry pancakes coming up!" Mrs. Bennett gave her son a final hug before turning to leave. She stopped in the doorway and called to her daughter, "Sophie, come and help mommy in the kitchen. I don't want you getting sick, too."

Sophie was not happy about this. "Why does Jamie get to play with Jack and the pretty lady?"

Mrs. Bennett sighed. "Because Jamie's sick, Sophie."

"Then Sophie will stay and get sick, too."

Warm arms surrounded the toddler and Sophie found herself being carried from the room. "Mommy, I wanna stay here!"

Jack and Baby Tooth exchanged a look. There really was only one solution to this.

Baby Tooth slipped from her spot by Jamie and came to stand by Mrs. Bennett and her fussy burden. "What if I went with you, Sophie."

The struggling stopped immediately and Sophie nodded happily. With a little wave the ladies disappeared into the hall leaving Jack and Jamie alone.

Jack smiled at the younger boy, "You are definitely feeling better today."

"Yeah! So, what are we gonna do today? Play video games?" Jamie pointed to an old TV set sitting in the corner of the room. "My mom let me bring the TV up here when I got sick so I'd have something to do."

Jack had heard the term 'video game' before, but the concept was a foreign one. "What's a video game?"

* * *

When Mrs. Bennett returned with breakfast she found her son happily explaining how to play Mario Cart to the foot of his bed. She shook her head. Jamie had the most active imagination of any child she knew. "Okay, Jamie, time to eat."

Her son nodded, sitting up so she could place the tray in her hands on his lap. "Mom, Jack's never played a video game before!"

"That's very interesting, Jamie, but you need to eat all of that before you finish teaching him."

He nodded, mouth already stuffed with pancake. Jamie quickly swallowed the food and asked, "Jack wants to know what Baby Tooth and Sophie are doing."

Mrs. Bennett was now utterly confused, "Baby Tooth?"

"His girlfriend! She's got a funny name because she used to be a tooth fairy."

"Oh. Sophie and her friend are playing with her dolls right now."

"Okay. When Sophie takes her nap can you tell Baby Tooth to come back here and play with us?"

Mrs. Bennett nodded, willingly indulging her child's fantasies. She was very proud of her son's imagination. "Sure. I'll be back up soon to check on you and you better have all of that food eaten when I do."

* * *

Baby Tooth was fascinated by Sophie's Barbie dolls. The little girl was happily showing her all of the outfits and accessories that you could but on the plastic figurines, often demonstrating with her favorites.

Sophie would put together a doll, hand it to Baby Tooth for examination, take the doll back, and then the cycle would repeat. Baby Tooth didn't mind, she liked to listen to the little girl babble on. Soon, though, Sophie's rapid movements had slowed to a sluggish crawl. Her mother entered the room and took the sleepy little girl in her arms. "Time for your nap, Soph."

She began to leave, but she stopped in the doorway and sighed before turning to face the empty room once more. She had promised Jamie she'd give his friend a message and she wasn't about to break a promise, even if that friend wasn't real, "Baby Tooth, Jamie said you should come back to his room while Sophie sleeps."

Baby Tooth nodded, unfazed by the fact that the woman was talking to the wrong end of the room. She stood, gave a tiny bow, said 'thank you,' and rushed past her up the stairs.

If Mrs. Bennett hadn't known better she would have sworn a winter breeze had just rushed past her and up the stairs.

* * *

While Sophie slept the trio played video games, with Baby Tooth quickly picking up the basics from Jack and Jamie. Mrs. Bennett would periodically wonder in, surprised at how easily Jamie was amusing himself playing multiplayer games by himself, but happy at how well he looked. When Sophie woke up she demanded Baby Tooth play with her once more and, according to Jamie, the girl did just that.

As strange as he children's behavior way, Mrs. Bennett was pleased to see Sophie playing by herself for once instead of demanding constant attention. She even had to beg Sophie to leave her 'friend' to come to dinner. The child had only agreed to do so when a place had been set for the "pretty lady."

Finally, it was time for Sophie to go to sleep and Mrs. Bennett listen in amazement as her daughter told her all about what she'd done with her imaginary friend that day.

When Mr. Bennett came home from his business trip she'd have to tell him about this strange day

* * *

"Do you have to go?" Jamie looked sadly between the two as they stood at the end of his bed.

Jack nodded. "Just for a few days, Jamie. A storm in Russia is starting to get out of control and I don't want anyone getting hurt. We'll be back sooner than you know it."

Jamie climbed out of bed and wrapped the two in a tight hug. "Okay, but you better bring a snow day with you!"

"Of course we will!" Jack laughed. "I promise!"

Baby Tooth nodded, "And now that you're all better we can go sledding again. You heard your mom, though, it's time for you to get to be."

Jamie let go of his friends and climbed back into the bed, grinning as Baby Tooth tucked him in. Jack was like a cool older brother, but Baby Tooth was like a sister and a mother all rolled together.

With a final wave goodbye his friends flew out of the window and into the snowy night.

* * *

Jack sped through the snow covered streets of the tiny town on his way towards Burgess. It had been a week since their last visit and he wanted to see how Jamie was doing. Baby Tooth trailed behind him, her eyes devouring the landscape as it flew past.

As much as Jack loved to rush, she loved to take in the sights of the world she'd spent so long having to experience through hasty glances while rushing about collecting teeth. Suddenly, she stopped midflight, her gaze held by two young people as they crunched their way over the frosted ground. It was a boy and a girl. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders and he was smiling down at her with a strange look in his eyes. She was gazing back at him with the same look and the air around them seemed to glow with the strange energy. Baby Tooth lowered herself to the ground, watching the couple, absolutely fascinated by the strange scene.

By now Jack had noticed that she wasn't following him anymore and had doubled back to see what was up. He landed beside her, following her gaze as the couple stopped beneath a streetlamp. The boy moved first, reaching a gloved hand up to stroke the girl's cheek. She smiled at the touch, eyes closing as she leaned against his hand. Then their heads began to move closer and closer together until two pairs of lips met in a tender kiss.

Jack chuckled at the sight. Winter lovers were something he'd gotten used to over the years. He looked back to Baby Tooth, ready to tell her it was time to go, and stopped, watching the dreamy look that stole across her face. Jack felt heat rushing to his face and his heart beginning to pound.

Finally sensing his presence, Baby Tooth shook herself out of the wistful stupor and turned to Jack, ready to apologize for stopping, but when their gazes met all thoughts of apologies flew away. Instead she found herself reaching out, brushing diminutive fingers along his face. Jack followed suit, brushing a strand of pale hair away from her face, softly pushing it behind her ear. They stood like that for what seemed like forever before Jack took a shaky breath and stepped closer. Baby Tooth's heart was pounding in her ears as the world around them slowly faded away until all that seemed to exist was the two of them in a tiny, frosty bubble.

Jack's hand was shaking now, as it cupped her chin and gently brought their faces closer together, but she didn't really care. They were so close she could feel the frosty breath escaping his pale lips and then she could feel his lips, too, as they captured hers in a sweet, icy kiss that tasted of winter winds and laughter.

The coupled they'd been watching broke apart and moved on, leaving her and Jack alone in the snowy street, but neither immortal noticed.

Jack pulled away first, staring down at Baby Tooth, his eyes full of wonder and the other strange emotion that couple had radiated. Baby Tooth had no doubt the emotions in her eyes mirrored Jack's, but once again, she really didn't care. Her time with Jack had taught her to take initiative as so she did, leaning up and capturing his lips once more. This time, Jack's arms wound around her body, holding her as close as he possibly could. She had never felt so safe, so full of joy, so full of…

She searched for the word as their lips pressed together and found it as they pulled apart once more: love.

They stared at each other, silent as a snowfall. Jack opened his mouth to say something, but the words died before they could escape and the delighted light in his eyes faded away, a mix of sadness and despair replacing it. Wordlessly he stepped back and lifted into the air, rushing away from Baby Tooth and the magical moment that had just transpired.

As he left her standing on that snow covered street a single thought tore through him. The equinox was fast approaching and, when it came, she'd be gone.


	18. Chapter 18

The following days passed like a blur. When Jack had arrived in Burgess the morning after the kiss he had been greeted by an eager Jamie who had immediately pulled the older boy into a snowball fight with his friend. Baby Tooth had arrived soon after, she she had acted as though nothing was wrong. Neither one of the immortals had spoken to the other that day, instead wrapping themselves up in their job of bringing joy and laughter to the children of the tiny town. They didn't let the children suspect a thing, either. Jack was good at forcing smiles and Baby Tooth was a fast learner.

As soon as the last child had gone inside Jack took to the air and zoomed off for the next stop, Baby Tooth trailing quietly behind, not even trying to catch up. She had figured out why Jack was acting so strange and she didn't feel like talking about it. Talking would just lead to tears. Instead of their days being full of fun and laughter they were now full of a slowly growing dread and rushed flights from town to town. Jack never let them stay for more than a moment after the children had disappeared, often time leaving as soon as the first parent called for their child. He always made sure they arrived after the kids had already come out to play, too. It was like he was afraid to be alone with her.

Though neither spoke of it, the equinox loomed over both teens like one of Pitch's nightmares. Baby Tooth didn't know when it would arrive, but she knew it was coming fast.

Then, one day, Jack stopped on a snow covered cliff facing the sea, just as the sun was beginning to set. There were no children here, only the two of them. She landed behind him, unsure if she should move to stand by his side or not.

"We can't keep doing this." His voice was shaking, but she pretended not to hear it.

"No, we really can't." She moved forward now, taking his hand in hers, but not yet daring to look at him. "Jack?"

He didn't look at her either, but he gripped her hand tightly, like a life line. "Yes?"

"This has been amazing."

He did look at her then. He saw the unshed tears in her eyes and brushed them away, making her finally meet his gaze. And then he was kissing her and she was kissing him back. They were poured everything into that kiss, both trying to forget about the dark future that lay before them. Shimmering tears fell from closed eyes as the couple kissed on that wintery shore, desperate to stay like that forever. Far above them the evening star glimmered in the evening sky.

* * *

Estel rolled her eyes at the two wishes that were sitting before her.

_I wish I could stay._

_I wish she could stay._

It had taken quite a bit longer than she'd thought it would. She'd expected the wishes to arrive before Christmas, but apparently these two were a little dense when it came to realizing their emotions. Why couldn't people just take the wish she offered them instead of trying to twist it as they saw fit? She had known that granting Baby Tooth's initial wish would eventually bring them both real happiness, that was her power after all, but no. Jack had to insist on changing it and Baby Tooth had been too afraid of giving up her old life to try and change his mind.

Estel leaned back in the chair and sighed. So, she guessed it was about time she visit the couple and tell them that she could only grant a wish, not change its parameters. It was an old trick of hers, tell the wisher that she'd change the wish and wait until they realized the original had been the better one, then tell them that was the one she'd granted. Such was the case here. From the moment she had granted the wish Baby Tooth's change had been permanent.

* * *

Baby Tooth and Jack looked up, tear stained faces illuminated by Estel's light. No, it wasn't time yet! She was here too soon!

"You know, I don't grant a wish lightly." The star lectured, ignoring the tears, "The wishes that reach me are the true desires of the heart and, often, people are afraid to admit they have those desires. This leads to them asking for something other than what their original wish entailed, but I can only grant true wishes."

The couple started up at her, hope beginning to flicker in their hearts. Estel smiled. "And that is the wish I granted you, Baby Tooth."

The girl swallowed and let go of Jack, stepping closer to the shimmering woman. "You mean, I don't have to go back?"

"No, Baby Tooth, you're going to be stuck like this forever."

The girl let out a sob of joy and Jack took her in his arms once more. The two teens sunk to the ground, laughing with wonder as Estel crossed her arms and shook her head in amusement. She was always right about these things.

Finally, they seemed to remember that they weren't alone and the couple turned to look at the woman once more.

"Thank you," said Jack, his arms still locked around Baby Tooth.

Estel gave a tiny bow. "You are more than welcome, young Guardian. It is always a pleasure to grant such a wish and I wish the two of you joy."

And then she was gone, leaving Jack and Baby Tooth alone to marvel at the future that suddenly seemed so bright.

* * *

In the same way the past few weeks had been a blur of despair the following months were a haze of bliss for Jack and Baby Tooth. Gone were the forced laughs and fake smiles. In their place came a never-ending rush of joy, kisses upon moonlit ponds, and endless fun. While the winter season kept them busy Jack and Baby Tooth really didn't mind. They were spending every day together doing what they were meant to do, bring excitement and laughter to the world and love to each other. One evening, after the children they'd spent the day playing with had gone inside, Jack and Baby Tooth made their way to a little park just outside of the town.

As the sun sank Jack took Baby Tooth in his arms and young couple shared a tender kiss.

A loud cough interrupted them and they broke apart, searching for the source of the unexpected noise. It didn't take much effort. They'd been so wrapped up in the kiss that they hadn't noticed the arrival of Sandy, North, Bunny, and Toothiana. The four Guardians were looking at them with grim expressions. Toothiana spoke first.

"We know today will be hard for both of you and we'd like to be here to help, if you need us."

The other Guardians nodded in agreement as the confused teenagers stared at them.

"Why would today be hard?" Jack asked, holding tighter to his girlfriend.

"It's March 20th, mate." Bunny looked uncomfortable saying the words, like he was calling down a curse upon them.

Jack looked down at Baby Tooth in confusion. His girlfriend shrugged, she was as lost as he was.

Now North spoke, "Is spring equinox, my friends."

He'd expected these words to lead to sadness and despair in duo's eyes, but they continued to simply stare at the Guardian's in confusion.

Above Sandy's head an image of a young girl formed and then reformed as a tooth fairy. Seeing the image, Baby Tooth's eyes widened and Jack burst into laughter. When he finally caught his breath the Spirit of Winter found himself facing four bewildered Guardians. He grinned, "I guess we kind of forgot to tell you that Baby Tooth isn't going to be turning back to a tooth fairy today, didn't we?"

Silence hung over the group until Bunny's eyes widened. "Easter is in two weeks and I took a break from decorating eggs for nothing?"

The Guardian of Hope quickly summoned up a tunnel and jumped in while yelling something about deadlines and inconsiderate teenagers. Jack burst into laughter once again and Baby Tooth began to giggle while the other Guardians let the information sink in.

When it finally did Toothiana swooped down and wrapped her arms around the former fairy, "Baby Tooth, that's wonderful!"

North picked Jack up and gave the Guardian a kiss on either cheek while exclaiming in Russian.

Sandy smiled and set off a few tiny sand fireworks overhead.

Then they realized what they'd stopped the couple from doing.

"You were kissing!" Toothiana set Baby Tooth down and looked like she was going to faint.

Jack nodded and stepped away from North, taking the girl in his arms once more. "Yeah, we were."

Sandy formed a sand heart above his head and followed the image with a question mark.

"Of course we're in love! Why else would we be kissing?"

Baby Tooth blushed at the attention and hid her face in Jack's hoodie letting her boyfriend deal with the shocked adults.

North gestured at them, "When did this happen?"

Jack rolled his eyes, "Two months ago..."

At this Toothiana suddenly looked concerned, "Jack, have you even had 'the talk?'"

Now Jack was blushing too, "Come on guys, give it a rest!"

The adults didn't seem to care that they were embarrassing the teens and continued bombarding them with questions until North had an idea, "Come,we must have feast to celebrate young couple!"

Jack laughed, his face still a deep crimson, and shook his head, "Don't the yeti's need time to prepare for that? And we can't have a party without Bunny there!"

North considered this for a moment before nodding. "I am seeing your point. We celebrate day after Easter, then!"

Jack looked down at the girl blushing girl wrapped tenderly in his arms and smiled, "What do you think?"

She nodded happily, keeping her eyes locked on Jack's, "That sounds like fun."

"Excellent!" Cried the Russian Guardian. "I will go and tell yetis."

With that he pulled a familiar snow globe from his pocket and disappeared into a shinning portal. Once he'd gone Tooth once again began to bombard them with questions until she realized that she needed to get back to her post. At that point she began to insist that they come with her to the Tooth Palace and tell her exactly what had happened. The couple laughingly accepted her invitation, knowing she wouldn't take no for an answer, and flew after the babbling Guardian as she continued to go on and on about how happy she was for them.

Sandy gave the departing group a little wave and zoomed off in the other direction, happy to be able to get back to work so quickly.

* * *

The day of the feast was here and everyone but Sandy had arrived at the Pole. A few moments after their arrival Jack had stopped in the middle of talking to North, an expression of concern crossing his face.

"What is wrong, my friend?" Asked North.

"I think there's a bad storm brewing near here. I really ought to go and check it out."

Baby Tooth stopped talking with Phil and turned towards Jack, "Do you need me to go with you."

He smiled and shook his head. "No, stay here and enjoy the party, I'll be back soon enough."

He gave her a tender kiss, making Toothiana sigh happily, and zoomed out of the window.

"You're so lucky, Baby Tooth," said her former Guardian. Then Toothiana's happy look turned into a puzzled one, "Can I even call you that anymore?"

Suddenly, Baby Tooth found the gaze of everyone in the room focused on her and she wasn't sure she liked it.

"Yes?" she squeaked.

"Ya know, she's right, I don't think we can keep callin' ya Baby Tooth if you're a winter spirit," said Bunny.

The others nodded and the debate began.

* * *

"Snowdrop?"

"Flake?"

"Not in a million years, mate. What about Ice?"

"Holly has a nice ring to it."

"Too Christmassy, what about Aurora?"

Baby Tooth made a disgusted face at the last one and leaned back into her chair. They'd been at this for what seemed like forever now and none of these names felt right. When was Jack going to get back? He had to be finished by now.

As if in answer to her silent plea an icy winds swirled through the room, drawing the group's attention away from their discussion and to the source of the sudden chill. Lounging against the wooden doorframe, a snowball in his hand, stood Jack Frost. "What's going on?"

Tooth smiled at the youngest Guardian, "Well, we realized we can't keep calling your helper Baby Tooth, she's a winter spirit now."

Jack threw the snowball into the air, catching it with the ease of three hundred years of practice. Bunny kept a wary eye on the twirling sphere of snow as Jack continued to throw and catch it, he knew all too well Jack's deadly aim with those things. "Yeah, I've been thinking about that myself. Baby Tooth just doesn't fit, does it?"

He looked over at his girlfriend and grinned, "What do you think?"

She shrugged, she hadn't really thought much about a name. As she looked around she realized that the Guardians were once again looking at her expectantly. Baby Tooth suddenly felt like hiding. Abruptly gaining an enormous interest in her toes, she watched as her bare feet traced tiny frost patterns in the shape of teeth on the ground. She was starting to hate this kind of attention, "Well, I'd like a name that fits with yours."

Jack nodded. It was only right that she would have a name that fit with his. Tossing the snowball into the air once more he grabbed it mid spin and studied the frosty surface for a moment before tossing it to Baby Tooth, "Here, catch!"

Baby Tooth looked up just in time to grab the flying projectile from the air. She stared down at the ball in confusion as Bunny rolled his eyes, "You wanna name her Snowball? And I thought Flake was bad."

Jack glared at the Easter Spirit, "What makes you think I would give her a name like that? Those are terrible names and, even if I did have an opinion on the matter, her name should be her choice!"

As the two Guardians bickered Baby Tooth cupped the snowball in her hands. This wasn't like one of Jack's normal creations. This was a special snowball, one of the ones with a hidden treasure! Wondering what it was, she gently traced her finger along the surface, remembering how Jack had opened the other one. Holding her breath she applied just a touch of frosty magic. Immediately, the snowball gave a little pop and a crack appeared along the surface. Smiling, she looked up at Jack to see if he'd noticed that she was opening his present only to find him staring at her. The other Guardians exchanged confused looks. As soon as the girl had begun to play with the snowball Jack had suddenly ignored Bunny completely.

"Was I not supposed to open it yet?" Baby Tooth looked at Jack worriedly.

Jack shook his head. "No, it's fine. I wouldn't have given it to you if I'd wanted you to wait."

Toothiana rolled her eyes. "Couldn't you have at least waited until Sandy arrived?"

"Yeah, but I'm bad at waiting for things. Besides, you all wanted me to help her chose a name."

Jack flew through the air, dropping down on the chair's armrest, taking his customary spot by Baby Tooth's side, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "So I am."

He trained his graze on her, grinning, laughing in a way that could almost be called nervous, "Go on, I gave it to you so you could open it. I think it'll help. At least, I hope it will."

Baby Tooth turned her gaze back to the present. She suddenly felt very nervous. Everyone was watching her again. "Maybe I should wait, Jack"

"Where's the fun in that? You've waited this long, open it!"

She looked up into Jack's frosty eyes, they were so full of excitement, and smiled. She'd never be able to refuse him anything. "Okay."

With a small nudge the snowball popped open. Inside, on a bed of snow, sat a ring of ice decorated in frost. The frost formed a pattern of miniature tooth fairies, each one carrying a snowflake. It was a perfect match to the bracelet currently draped around her wrist. As she stared down at the ring, brushing her fingers along the glass-like surface Baby Tooth felt Jack's arm slip from her shoulder. He carefully took the ring out of the snowball and examined it before kneeling down in front of her. Eyes shining, he held the ring out, "What do you think of Lady Frost?"

She laughed and nodded, allowing him to slip the band of ice onto her finger. Then he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her out of the chair and spinning her around the room. As they both beamed with happiness she whispered into his ear, "I think it sounds perfect."

* * *

Author's Note: I know they got engaged pretty fast, but they spend every day together so they've probably spent more time with one another in the time line of this story than some couples do in a year so I think it's fair. This is my first ever try at a romance and I'm really happy to see that so many of you have liked it. If enough people are interested I'll write a final chapter or two where we get to see their wedding (because there is no way Toothiana is going to let them not have one), but other than that this is the end. There will not be a sequel. Thank you for reading and please review!

Now that that's over I'm going to indulge in a mini-rant/explanation of why I wrote this for those who are curious. First off, I made Baby Tooth 16 for a reason. I think a lot of viewers view the minifaries as children, but they don't act like it. They all have fan girl crushes on Jack and are responsible for the very important task of collecting and protecting the teeth. Because of this, I think the minifaries would actually be teenage girls if they were to have human bodies.

Secondly, I actually think Baby Tooth and Jack are a couple that really works in this fandom and the movie supports it. Jack saves her twice, once from a nightmare and once from Pitch and she's the reason he gets back his memories and realizes that he really is a Guardian. Also, in the final scene of the movie, when Toothiana hugs Jack, Baby Tooth essentially breaks them apart, claiming Jack as hers. Jack's response to this is to laugh and happily take her in his hands. Then, when Jack bids us good bye at the end, she's seen hovering by his shoulder. If it weren't for the fact that she's way too tiny I get the feeling we'd be seeing a lot more fics like this one. On that note, if you want to take this idea and write your own version, feel free! I'd love to see another authors take on this couple! Thank you once again for reading!


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